


Two Spiders on a Web

by Vendetta543



Series: Two Spiders on a Web - A MCU Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen Crossover Series [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Gwen (Comics), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Maybe Romance, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Spider-verse cameos, Still not sure, Up to the Readers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-18 10:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 92,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vendetta543/pseuds/Vendetta543
Summary: Peter thought it was the end. Crumbling to dust in Mr. Stark's arms, when he closed his eyes he didn't think they'd open again. Except they did, and now he was stuck in a world where no one knew Spider-Man and the Spider-Woman who could help him was a stranger named Gwen Stacy.





	1. A Whole new Web

**Author's Note:**

> So someone suggested a crossover between Spider-Gwen and MCU Spider-Man and I thought, 'why not'? Might be a nice break from writing Looking Glass and it'd give me some experience in writing a closer-to-character Spider-Man rather than the ball of angst and cynicsm Noir tends to be. So here's my attempt at a crossover between the two.
> 
> Take note that it's probably not gonna be the best since I don't know how to write 'cinnamon roll' characters. I tend to default to more anti-heroic protagonists. If anything can be improved then please mention it. I only made this over the course of a few hours so it's likely going to be pretty rough.
> 
> The fic was suggested as a romance between MCU Spidey and Spider-Gwen. While I think it's more viable than Gwen and Noir are in Looking Glass, I do still have my doubts. I left some questions at the bottom to get the readers' thoughts.

_"Mr. Stark...I don't feel so good."_

He remembered it all. The shock at seeing everyone around him disintegrate into dust, watching as Star Lord, Drax, Dr. Strange and Mantis all fell - turned to dust and blown away by the wind. He didn't have time to think it through or wonder what exactly happened to them all. All he knew was one thing: Thanos won, and that meant they all lost.

_"I don't know- I don't know what's happening..."_

His spider-sense warned him first. It was subtle for just a second before it suddenly screamed out, warning him of danger  _everywhere_. He wanted to run, to jump and swing away as far as he could, but he knew it wouldn't have done anything. It wasn't an attack he could just dodge with a flip and a quip. People were dying, and even if he didn't know why he knew it was coming for them.

_"I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go... Sir, please, I don't want wanna go...I don't wanna go..."_

He wanted to be brave, to go out like a hero, but he couldn't. He remembered hugging Mr. Stark tightly and begging, pleading for him or anyone to to  _make it stop._ His spider-sense told him he was next and he couldn't take the idea of leaving, not yet. He was too young, he hadn't said goodbye to May or everyone else...it was just like when Liz's dad trapped him under the warehouse. Suddenly he wasn't Spider-Man, just a kid in over his head.

_"I'm sorry..._

Peter didn't know why he apologized. It wasn't his fault. He was tempted to blame Star Lord, but he understood why he did it. If someone told him May or Ned were dead and their murderer was right in front of him he didn't know if he'd be able to control himself. He nearly lost control completely when he went after the man who shut Uncle Ben. So he couldn't blame him, not really.

Maybe he thought he failed. He'd messed up during the fight at the airport and then the ferry. He didn't tell Mr. Stark or the others, but it still bothered him sometimes. Maybe if he'd just pulled harder, maybe if he knocked Star Lord away to keep him from hitting the big purple guy in the face, maybe...

Always maybes. May told him he always had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Fading away wasn't painful. He was cold at first, but soon enough there was nothing. He remembered looking up at Mr. Stark; determined to go with some sort of dignity, at least. His last thoughts were of May, Ned and the rest of his friends. Were they safe? Would they ever find out what happened to him? He wondered if May would be proud of what he did, what he tried to do. She'd cried the first time she found out the truth, wondered if he'd be next after Uncle Ben and leave her alone.

When Peter closed his eyes he didn't expect he'd open them again.

He did.

Peter sat up with a loud gasp of breath, "Wh-What...?" He tried to stand, but his legs felt like jelly. Hands clumsily gripped the closest wall to pull himself up. He was in an alley, or at least that's what it looked like - brick walls, piled up cardboard boxes and and puddles of what he hoped was water barely lit up by the setting sun. It smelled like garbage and every breath he took felt like someone punching him in the chest, but he was alive. He'd take it.

"M-Mr. Stark...?" He pulled himself up fully and looked around. The alleyway was barren and he saw a few cars passing through the alley at the exit. For a second he thought it was all a dream, a little paybacks from all the burritos he ate last night, but one look down cut that thought away immediately. Mr. Stark's new suit was still on him, albeit dirty and damaged from the fight back on Titan.

He'd survived...

Peter laughed and cried at the same time. He thought - he  _knew_  - that he died, but he was still here, still breathing, "Wow..." He wiped away the last of his tears and trudged down the alley, trying and failing to get the suit to give him a new mask before quickly giving up. He didn't care. He was pretty sure wherever he was they had more to worry about with that big purple guy trying to destroy half of the life in the galaxy.

When he made it to the end of the alley he was almost floored when a screeching car slid past him and a few people passed him by, most of them not even looking up from their phones. Just another reminder that he was alive, "Wow..." He pushed himself on the wall and tried to ignore the throbbing in his skull. He had to...Mr. Stark was still there on Titan with that blue robot woman. He had to do something. Call Happy or Ms. Potts or...

He almost fainted. Peter grabbed the closest wall and threw up. A few people looked at him, some with pity and some with disgust. Peter wiped his mouth and stumbled down the street, using to wall to keep himself standing. His vision swam and the urge to pass out then and there grew worse by the second. He was tired, hungry and sick all at once.

He rushed to catch up with a nearby businesswoman and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and gave him a wary look, her eyes darting down to his torn suit, "Hey, uh, weird question, but where are we?" Her wary look worsened, "I-I don't mean the street or anything, just...what city is this?" She looked American, and so did most of the other people, so maybe he got lucky and New York was in car-surfing distance.

"We're in New York. Now please leave me alone."

She walked away. Peter didn't bother chasing after her; he got what he needed, "New York...?" This place felt...different, but she had no reason to lie to him, right? He groped through the suit's 'backpack' till he found his (miraculously intact) phone, "No signal..." Calling May and the others would've had to wait. Still, the GPS would've been useful. He didn't recognize this part of town.

The dizziness finally began to fade. Peter stood up straighter and made to duck into another alley to swing away before a call from behind made him turn, "Dude, what the heck are you wearing?" A brunette woman asked, her eyes looking down at his torn suit through his red-rimmed glasses, "You some kind of new Superhero? Where's your mask?"

"Uh..." Quick, he had to say something, "No...?" He shook his head, "Um, I mean...I'm wearing this cause of a bet?"

"Oh...well, that's lame." She sighed and walked past him. Peter shook his head and ducked into the closest alley he could. She didn't recognize him, but he wasn't that surprised. Spider-Man costume copies were all over the place and no one else saw Mr. Stark's new suit. Probably just thought he was another fan cosplaying on the street or something.

He crawled up the wall to the building to get a better view. From higher up he vaguely recognized the place - now he just had to figure out where to go. Going to the Stark offices would let him talk to Happy or Ms. Potts, maybe make contact with Mr. Stark again, but he wanted to go home and make sure Ned and everyone else was okay. He checked his phone again and frowned at the lack of bars. What the heck was wrong with it?

Groaning softly, he tapped into the suit's controls and forced it to give him another mask, ignoring the warning about possible nanobot instability. Mr. Stark wouldn't be happy with him messing with the suit again, but it was better than swinging around without a mask, "Come on, Spider-Man..." He took a deep breath and checked his webshooters. Still working, so no worries on that front.

He looked left and right one last time before he jumped and swung his way to the direction of Stark offices. He'd just drop in, tell Happy and Ms. Potts what happened, then leave to go check on Aunt May. He was sure it'd take a while for even them to make a plan to get Mr. Stark back, so it was better if they found out as soon as possible.

A few people looked up at him as he was passed. He was used to staring and being recorded. This was different. The people were surprised, like they were seeing Spider-Man for the first time. Peter didn't think much on it. He just had to tell them what happened on Titan and then check on everyone.

That was the plan, at least. Peter landed on a close by alley and looked down at his suit. He didn't have a change of clothes - left it before the fight with those creepy guys with Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange (cool name). Could he just walk in? Mr. Stark planned to make him an Avenger all those months ago, and right now really counted as an emergency.

He was going in.

A few of the people waiting in the lobby gave him weird looks when he rushed in and talked to the woman at the desk, "I-I need to see Happy and Ms. Potts! It's urgent!" She looked up at him, her lips puckered in annoyance but otherwise showing no other reaction to his plea, "Please, we don't have time!"

"...Do you have an appointment?" Her voice was flat and annoyed.

"Uh, no, but-"

"No appointment, no meeting." She turned back to her computer, "If you wish to make an appointment then please call Mr. Stark's secretary and state your business. Ms. Potts will give you a call within 24 hours time to inform you if you're allowed to meet or not-"

"We don't have time for that!" Peter screamed, "Mr. Stark's out in space and he might be in danger! If we don't do something he might be stuck there with no way or-or he might be-"

"I might be what?"

Peter turned around and gaped when he saw Mr. Stark standing right in front of him. He looked different - no wounds and wearing a charcoal suit instead of his armor - but it was definitely him. Mr. Stark gave him a curious look, his eyebrows arched together and just waiting for him to explain himself. Peter wanted to be the one to ask him that. How did he get off Titan? Was Thanos gone? Did they all make it?

He didn't ask any of that. Instead he practically stumbled towards the man and hugged him tightly. Mr. Stark grunted in surprise and froze for a moment before he suddenly pushed Peter off, "I know I have that effect on people, but respect the personal space, please." He dusted his off his suit and looked down at him curiously, "Now, who the heck are you, kid? Last I checked I didn't know any kids wearing onesies?"

"Wh-What?" Peter waited for him to say he was joking, but nothing came. A few of the other waiting people whispered among themselves, "M-Mr. Stark, it's me! Spider-Man!"

"Yeah...I don't remember any 'spiderman', sorry." Peter stood slack jawed. What the hell was happening? "Look, kid, if you wanna put on a costume and play pretend then do it outside, okay? People are working here."

"W-Wait, this doesn't make any sense," Peter said, "Wh-What about Thanos? A-And Dr. Strange and everyone else? Are they alright? Did we beat him?"

"Look, kid, you're obviously in your head about this, but I don't have the time to play pretend." He grabbed him by the shoulders and nudged towards the door, "Now scoot before security gets antsy, okay?"

"M-Mr. Stark-" The sliding doors shut in his face. Peter watched the older hero wave him off before he made his way to the elevator, a few of the other visitors immediately surrounding him to talk about something he couldn't make out.

That was Mr. Stark, he was sure of it, so why did he act like that? "What the heck's going on?" He backed away and debated crawling up to his office before thinking better of it. Mr. Stark had a reason for doing it, he had to. Maybe...Maybe someone was listening in? Maybe he had a plan and he couldn't tell anyone? If he got himself out of Titan then he had to have a plan, right?

Well...Mr. Stark seemed alright and so was the city, so maybe they saved the day after all? it would explain why he was back home again. Peter took a deep breath and swung his way back home. If Mr. Stark was safe then that meant they had some time, at least. He'd check in on May and Ned first, see if they were both alright. At least then he could see if he had to panic.

Peter breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he saw the window to his room. Ever since May found out about his identity he didn't have to sneak in any more, though the curfews made him wish for those days again. Nine o' clock sharp, she said, or he'd be grounded till he was in college. So far he wasn't dumb enough to test her on it. She'd screamed Mr. Stark's ear off (after the crying) when she found out.

As soon he was inside he knew something was wrong. His room looked different - no METS posters, no cobbled together computer and none of his half-finished science projects. Instead the room was neat and tidy with a sleek laptop on a nearby study desk. Did May redecorate? No, she wouldn't do that without telling him, and she wouldn't have had the time. The place was normal just last morning before he left.

He didn't get much time to think about it before the door suddenly opened. Peter snapped his head to the source and found himself face to face with a guy a year or two younger than him. The two of them just stared at one another, the guy's hand frozen on the knob while Peter was hunched warily, until he screamed.

"Dad! There's a burglar here!"

"What? No, no, no! I'm not a burglar!" His pleas were drowned out by the younger boy's continued screams. Peter heard the rushing pad of footsteps and soon enough a big man he assumed was the guy's dad barrelled into the room, a baseball bat in his hands, "Sir, please, let me explain!"

"Get the fuck outta here!" He swung the bat at his chest.

Peter ducked under the blow and backed away, both hands raised, "Look, it was a mistake! I thought this was my place-" He swung again. This time Peter jumped up to the roof and clung to the wall.

He expected them to be surprised, but seeing the look of absolute  _fear_  on their faces felt like a punch in the gut, "Richard, run!" The man pushed his kid towards the door and rushed towards the cabinet. His spider-sense blared softly just before the man pulled out a pistol and aimed it right for him, "Fucking spider freaks! You aren't going to hurt my son!"

Peter didn't stay to explain. He jumped through the open window and swung away, gunshots ringing behind him.

He waited till he was far enough away in Chinatown before he finally stopped. Peter put his hands on his knees and panted, ripping away his mask so he could breath easier. What the heck was that? The guy acted like he was some kind of crazy murderer or something! He knew it was a bad scene, but most people knew Spider-Man was a good guy, right?

Peter wiped away the sweat on his forehead and swallowed nervously. Okay, so the guy was overprotective; so what? May kinda freaked when she saw him in his room, though the reasons for different.

Still, what the heck happened back there? Did he make a mistake? May wasn't there - or maybe she was? he didn't get a chance to look - but he was sure that was his room, even if it did look pretty different. May couldn't have sold the apartment, so-

Screams from below jolted him out of his thoughts. Putting his mask back on, he looked over the edge and found an all too familiar sight, "Don't tell me you forgot! This week's protection money is due, motherfucker, and I don't take no excuses!" A large Black woman in a white fur coat grabbed an old man by the collar and pulled him close, her face marred by a deep scowl, "Do I gotta make an example out of you?!"

"N-No, please, sales weren't good this week! And my daughter's sick, I needed-"

"I don't give a damn about your damn daughter! Money every week, like I-"

Peter landed on a nearby lamppost, "Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" he said. The woman's scowl worsened and she looked up at him, "Might be a bit hard, though. Maybe lose the coat? Looks like it's adding a few pounds."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Call me Spider-Man." She webbed her hand and yanked her away from the old man, "What's your name, soon to be jailed person?"

She didn't answer. Her scowl changed to a smirk and he saw something under her coat glow yellow before his spider-sense tingled. Peter jumped away and just barely avoided the large, golden rings that suddenly flew through the air at dangerous speeds, "Woah, that's new!" He swung through the barrage and clung to the nearby wall, "How are you generating those rings? Your belt isn't large enough to store all of them. Some kind of liquid compound, maybe?"

"Man, shut the fuck up!"

"You don't have to be so rude about it!" Peter swung through the next barrage and winced when one of the rings hit his shoulder. They packed a wallop! "So, really, what's your Supervillain name? Everyone has those, right?"

She shot another curse at him that he wasn't comfortable repeating. Sighing, Peter webbed her belt with a few balls of webbing till the entire hole was covered, "Think that's gonna work on me?!" She took aim again and...nothing. The web stretched slightly, the rings trying to push through, but nothing happened. Her right eye twitched and she tried again.

His spider-sense didn't warn him about the explosion. Peter's eyes widened at the sudden boom and the new wave of rings that suddenly shot out of the belt in all directions, "Oh, no, no, no!" He webbed as many as he could to the ground and walls. From what he could see the rings bounced around and the last thing he needed was anyone else getting hurt.

He was halfway to getting through them all when more of the rings were suddenly webbed down, "Hey, need some help?" A female voice asked. He caught a blur of black and white above him. He didn't have enough time to get a good look before another ring came for his neck and he dodged. Seriously, how did she fit it all in that in that one belt? It wasn't a liquid composite like his webbing.

When the last ring was finally taken down he got a chance to look at his rescuer. It was hard to tell from her crouching position on top of the car, but she looked about as tall as he was. She was covered her to to in a black and white costume that had smatterings of pink and teal on her arms and feet. On her head was a hood, though he didn't see why since she had a mask underneath it. It did looked cool, though.

The first thing that came to mind was 'female Spider-Man', and the webbing she had just made it worse. Was that egotistical of him? It wasn't like he was the only Spider hero around. Black Widow was one too.

"Thanks for the help." The lady with ring belt - Ringer! That sounded good - was on the ground, groaning and unconscious but still alive. Peter debated on whether he should web her down before the other Spider - Spider-Girl? Spider-Woman? She seemed like a Spider-Woman - did it first.

"Cool. By the way, we should probably get outta here before the cops arrive. They aren't exactly a fan of Spiders."

He didn't ask questions and just followed her. She swung through the air too,  _and_  she could cling to walls - if Mr. Stark were here (and he wasn't acting like he didn't know him) then he probably would've told Peter to start complaining about copyright.

She waited till they were on a billboard out of sight before she spoke, "We made a mess back there." She sighed and put her hands on her hips, "It's not like Spider-Woman isn't already walking on eggshells. Couldn't resist hitting the glowy belt, huh?"

"Sorry." He would've been the first to admit that he wasn't the neatest Superhero. He was just glad that no one got hurt this time...well, except Ringer, but she kinda deserved it.

"Ah, whatever, it's not like they don't already hate me." She waved a hand through the air, "So, what brings you to this dimension? More inter-dimensional Vampires coming to hunt us down or are you just sightseeing on one of the worst dimensions in the multiverse?"

"Um...what?" Peter blinked. Was that code for something.

"What? Did the Inheritors get out or not? Cause if not then I should probably tell you I'm already in the Web Warriors and that's been keeping me pretty busy on the inter-dimensional front-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Peter took a deep breath to calm himself, "Okay, um...I dunno how to say this so I'll just ask straight out: what the heck are you talking about?"

She looked at him blankly (maybe? it was hard to tell with the mask on) before she crossed her arms, "Alright, so just answer this question: you do know you're in an alternate dimension, right?"

"An alternate what?" Peter almost laughed, if only to try to calm himself, "Um...I mean, alternate dimensions have been theorized in some journals, but there's never been any proof just yet. We haven't even begun to understand how to access these alternate dimensions, assuming they really exist. I heard that S.H.I.E.L.D was making some headway before they got decomissioned-"

"Okay, just hold for a second." She put her hands on her waist again and started pacing, "...Crap, you didn't meant to come here, did you?" She didn't wait for him to answer, "Alright, um...I'm gonna have to do some explaining, so just wait here a sec, kay?"

She swung over the corner and disappeared from sight. Peter debated on following her before he sat down at the top of the billboard, his legs dangling over the edge. An alternate dimension? A weird explanation, but it'd definitely explain all the weirdness going on. And heck, Dr. Strange used magic and they tried to stop a giant purple dude with a weird chin from using gems to genocide half the galaxy. At this point he'd accept anything.

The other Spider returned eventually, carrying some sodas and corndogs in a clear plastic bag, "Sorry, didn't want to do this on an empty stomach." She sat next to him and placed the bag between them, raising the mask up to her nose, "Anyway, I'm not really one of the science-y types, so uh...alright, do you know waht the multiverse is? You've watched movies and read comics before, right?"

"Yeah, I mean...I kinda get it." Peter raised his own mask and took a sip of the soft drink only to cough. It tasted like liquid sugar, "Like something happens and it's like the roads diverge or something. Like there's one world where I sneeze and another where I don't sneeze and both of them exist at the time, right?"

"I guess? Like I said I'm not an expert." She shrugged, "Okay, so I'm guessing you didn't come here on your own or on purpose. What happened?"

"We were, uh..." He licked his lips. The memories of dying were still fresh, "Um...there was this alien guy called Thanos. He was crazy, thought that everything would be better if half of everyone just...died. We tried to stop him, but he got away and..." He took a slow breath, "I don't know what happened, but suddenly most of us just started...turning into dust, me included."

"Turning into dust?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know that sounds crazy-"

"Crazy? Did you not hear me about the inter-dimensional Vampires?" She snorted and took a bite out of one of the corndogs, "I'm no expert, but it sounds like whatever this Thane guy did it's what brought you here."

"Yeah..." He looked down at can, "I-I gotta go back. I gotta make sure everyone's alright. Mr. Stark, May, my friends...who knows what happened to them."

"May..." She pursed her lips briefly, "...I know I might just be beating a dead horse, but are you Peter Parker under that mask?"

He was tempted to refuse at first before eventually thinking better of it. He was in another dimension, who cared if another Superhero knew him? Besides, his spider-sense didn't warn him, just like when May and Ned found out, "Yeah." He took off his mask and placed it besides him. He probably looked like a mess, "How'd you know?" He turned to her and found her looking at him, mouth slightly open, "Wh-What's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing, it's just...you're younger than I thought you'd be."

"Hey, I'm 17..." He hated being called a kid. He could stop a runaway truck with his bare hands, didn't that count for something?

"No, no, it's just...most of the other Spider guys I know are in their 20's." She set her food down and swung her legs idly, "Well, I think I can help you. I've got a dimensional watch back in my place. We just use it, port over to the Web Warriors base and we can have you back home before dinner."

"O-Oh, really? That'd be great!" He smiled. Finally something was going his way, "Hey, um, you seem to know who I am. Do I know you? In my...dimension, I mean."

"Ha, maybe, though I'm probably dead where you're from."

He didn't get a chance to respond to that before she suddenly pulled her mask off. Peter blinked and let out a small sound of recognition when he saw her face in full. It was somewhat hard to tell without the headband and the couple of extra years, but he definitely knew who it was. He couldn't believe it was her. The multiverse worked in weird ways, but at least it was someone he knew.

"Yeah, it's me, Gwen-"

"Betty Brant!"

An uncomfortable silence settled over the pair. Betty-  _Gwen's_  sheepish smile was replaced by a look of utter confusion. Peter suddenly felt swinging away, "Uh...what?" She gave him a look that that screamed 'what the hell?', "Um...no, not Betty. I'm Gwen Stacy."

"Gwen...Stacy? Uh..." Did he know a Gwen Stacy? "Uh...oh, there's a Gwen Stacy in Midtown! She's that transfer student from France! Ned has a crush on her! Is that you?"

"What? France? How does that even- no, you know what, I met the Indian version of you, I'm not gonna question it." She rolled her eyes and laughed wryly, "Is her dad the police chief?"

"Uh...I think? She said she transferred cause of her dad's job in law enforcement."

"Huh, so there's a world where I'm French. Who knew?" She put her mask back on and stood, "Know what, least it means I'm not dead. Come on, let's go to my place."

"Right behind you, uh...sorry, what was your name? Superhero name, I mean."

"Spider-Woman. So original, I know." She clicked her tongue and clapped him on the shoulder, "Guessing you're Spider-Man. Or is it Spider-Boy?" He could practically see the smile under he

"Spider- _Man_." Where was Karen when he needed her? Interrogation mode would've been really nice right about now, "So, uh...I'll follow your lead?"

"Sure. Keep up, Spidey!"

She jumped off the billboard and swung, Peter following after her soon afterwards. Maybe things were looking up.


	2. A New Fantastic Dimension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...this ended up getting more attention than I anticipated (in other sites, at least). So to follow up on the requests, here's the second chapter for the fic. Like before I just made it over the course of a few hours so it's probably not my best work, but I tried.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is mostly setup and explanations on why MCU doesn't just leave. The next chapters are more where the story beats pick up.
> 
> Going by the voting poll, the current status quo is: Later Venomized timeline, Gwen experienced with dimensional travel, and an overwhelming desire for a romance between the pair. For those hoping for the opposite then I apologize, but I will add some angst and drama when appropriate, worry not.
> 
> Side Note - For Looking Glass readers, I wanna assure you: I am not putting in another stupid plot twist for MCU Spidey like I did for Noir despite their similar circumstances in Chapter 1. This is a more straightforward affair and an exercise in writing an Ideal Male hero and a more lighthearted romance/friendship. Just wanted to make that clear.

Peter didn't know what he expected Spider-Woman's place would be like, but he definitely didn't think it'd be a smallish apartment that looked like a tornado ran through it. Spider-Woman ushered him through the window (classic) first before shutting it behind her, "Sorry about the mess." She picked up an empty packet of chips and tossed it at a nearby plastic bag, "Wasn't really expecting guests, you know?"

"Oh no, it's cool. Totally get it." He looked around the room. It was bigger than his room, though not by much. Every little inch of space was filled with either furniture, wrappers, books (none of which were in the bookcase, oddly enough, which was instead filled with CD's and albums) and various other knick-knacks, "I mean, I'm the same way. Should see my room back home. May always gets on my case to be neater.

"May..." She paused, "...Hey, I know this might be a dumb question to ask, but...is Ben Parker still..."

"He, uh, he died." And it was his fault. He was riding high on being Spider-Man that he thought a thief was too beneath him, "Could we not talk about him? Sorry, it's just-"

"Hey, you don't have to explain. Tragedy seems to follow us Spiders around." She squeezed his right shoulder briefly and nudged her head to the door, "Well, make yourself at home. I just need to find my portal watch and we'll be good to go."

Portal watch...she acted like something that could tear apart the fabric of reality was no big deal, "Cool..." They stared at one another for a few quiet seconds before he spoke up again, "Uh, I mean, yeah, I'll make myself at home."

"Mi casa es tu casa." She laughed, "There's some food in the fridge if you want something." She bent down and started rummaging through some stuff.

He was starving, actually, but he couldn't focus on eating anything right now. Mumbling his thanks, he left the room and plopped down on the small couch, taking off his mask as he did. The place wasn't much bigger than his and May's apartment, which was comforting in a way. Familiar, "Man, I hope they're alright..." Maybe he'd been wrong, maybe he wasn't dying and just panicked cause his Spider-Sense just overblew it. It did that sometimes.

It was better than the alternative, at least.

Minutes passed and eventually she stepped out of the room, a silver watch/gauntlet thing on her right wrist and her mask off again. Peter focused on her face again. She  _definitely_  looked like Betty Brant, he hadn't just been imagining that: same shade of blonde hair, same color of skin, same eyes...the only thing she didn't have was the headband and a few inches of hair.

"Found it. It was under a pizza box." She grinned lightly and ushered for him to stand, "You might wanna step back. Been a bit since I used this thing."

She tapped one of the buttons on the 'watch' and, before Peter could say anything, a blue portal suddenly opened on the rightmost wall. Peter's eyes widened and he almost jumped up the roof in surprise. He couldn't deny that a part of him didn't believe she could just casually pop between dimensions, especially not after he saw the state of her apartment, but there it was.

"Wow..." Peter mumbled.

"Yeah, that was my reaction when Billy recruited me." She winked and nudged him forward, "Now come on, get in. It's not going to bite or make you explode or anything."

"Uh...you first." Peter took a cautious step back, "May told me to never go through bright, interdimensional portals without making sure it was safe first. She's kind of a worrywart."

"Sounds just like Aunt May."  _Aunt_  May? That was weirdly close. Spider-Woman - Gwen, he reminded himself - rolled her eyes and stepped through the portal, "See, it's just fine. Now get your butt over here and- Oh, oh my god! What is that thing?! Aghhhhh!"

"Spider-Woman!"

He almost rushed through the portal before her head popped back up, an amused grin on her face, "Nah, just kidding. We're good."

"Oh my God!" Peter put both hands on his hair and was torn between screaming and laughing.

"Sorry, sorry! My friend Jess played that joke on us once and I didn't think I'd get another chance to play it on a newb, so..." Her grin never faded despite the supposed apologies, "You had to admit, it was pretty funny!"

"That's not funny! I thought some kind of interdimensional monster got you or something!"

"Interdimensional monster? You've been watching too much Stranger Things." She rolled her eyes again and offered him a hand, "Now seriously, get in here. Portals aren't meant to be open for long."

"Yeah...how do I know you're not the monster who ate Spider-Woman trying to lure me to my doom?"

"Huh, good point."

Without saying anything else she webbed him in the chest and pulled, dragging him through the portal. Peter raised both hands and closed his eyes as he stumbled through the blue gateway. It was odd. He expected it to feel like he was being pulled through dimensions (that felt cold, right?), but instead there was nothing. When Peter opened his eyes again he found himself on a corridor of what looked like an old castle.

"Wh-Where are we?" Peter asked, so surprised he paid no attention to the dangling bit of web attached to his chest.

"Depends. Technically it's Earth-001 according to the watch, but we kinda just call it homebase or loomworld. This is where the vampires I mentioned before used to live." The pointer finger on her left hand turned into a sharp claw and she used it to snip the webbing off. He was too shocked stupid to comment on it, "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone and then we can send you back. Hopefully Karn's not too hungry."

She led him to large room with a bunch of webs on the ceiling and walls and some pillars holding everything up. The first thing he noticed was the big, circular machine with spindly legs at the center roof. Inside it was a guy in a fancy blue coat that looked like something out a Victorian era play. Everything from his waist below was hidden by a hole in the machine he'd slotted himself into, leaving only his upper body exposed. His face was hidden by a weird metal diving mask, which Peter found kinda creepy.

"Honeys, I'm home!" Spider-Woman called.

The 'honeys' in question ended up just being two people, both of them also unmasked. The first one caught his attention immediately. Peter didn't know how to describe him (it was a him, right?). The closest thing he could say was cartoon pig, cause it definitely didn't look like any normal kind of pig with its big eyes, brown hair and red and blue costume.

That and he was eating what definitely looked like a ham sandwich and he didn't want to think about cannibalism.

The second one was a teenage girl who looked about the same age as him. Her costume was a red and dark blue ensemble that matched his and the cartoon pig's, though the web patterns were more numerous and she had what looked like web wings on her underarms. She looked up to greet them and he caught brown, almost auburn hair and wide blue eyes.

She was pretty. If he wasn't so worried about the fate of the entire universe he probably would've talked to Ned about her as soon as he got back.

"Gwen!" The other girl grinned and hugged Spider-Woman as soon as she was close enough, "Where the heck were you? You just dropped off the grid, like, a year ago!"

"Sorry about that." Spider-Woman laughed and returned the gesture before pushing her off gently, "I was dealing with Matt Murderdock. He kinda stole my watch, I went to jail for a bit, it was a bad trip." She sighed, "Anyway, I should be good now. Back to Web Warriors duty, if you need me."

"Good thing, then, cause we're kinda flaggin' here." The cartoon pig said. Somehow he sounded exactly like Peter thought he would; like someone out of Looney Tunes, "I mean everyone's agreed to help us, but you wouldn't believe how many of em go 'do you  _really_  need me for this?' any time we ask for help? It's like pulling teeth, I tell ya!"

"Heh...good to see you too, Ham," Spider-Woman said. Peter was mostly trying to wrap his head around the fact that a cartoon pig was named (or allowed people to call him) Ham. Wasn't that like calling a cartoon fish 'Fishsticks'? "Where's everyone else?"

"Lady Spider's back in her world with Billy. Patrolling, they said, but they're obviously going out. Anya's there as a 'chaperone', which means she's trying to make sure her crush doesn't get any." The blue and red Spider-Woman - Spider-Girl? Spider-Lady? He wasn't sure - rolled her eyes in amusement, "Octavia and Pavitr are in the lab designing some new gizmo-" she looked past Spider-Woman to him, "-hey, who's your friend?"

"Oh, sorry." Spider-Woman beckoned him closer and he reluctantly followed, "This is Spider-Man aka Peter Parker. He got dumped by my dimension by accident and I was hoping we could send him back."

"Another one? Man, you'd think whoever gave us our powers would let someone else have some fun," The cartoon pig said, "Well, kid, the name's Peter Porker, but you can just call me Spider-Ham. Now I know what you're thinking, and yes, that means I'm you as a pig. Don't ask, cause I dunno either."

"Uh..." Peter blinked. Honestly sounded less insane than the big purple dude with six gems that could blow up half the galaxy, "So...you were a pig bitten by a radioactive spider?"

"Nah, spider bitten by a radioactive pig." Peter just stared, "...Why does everyone act like that's such a weird thing? Not like you hairless apes getting bitten by radioactive spiders makes any more sense."

"Right..." The other Spider-Woman took his hand in a firm handshake, "Most people call me Mayday, but I usually go by Spider-Woman - Spider-Girl to a few stubborn guys who don't like the name change." She smiled at him, "Anyway, nice to meet you. Maybe once you deal with whatever dumped you in Gwen's place you'll think of joining the Web Warriors? I kinda need someone to sub in for me."

"O-Oh, uh, maybe?" Mr. Stark made him an Avenger on the ship, but he kinda doubted that would've stuck once Thanos was dealt with. Heat of the moment, Mr. Stark would say, "I mean, yeah, sure, if you think I could work." He was still shaking her hand...why was he still shaking her hand? Mayday was starting to look at him weird. God, he thought Liz would've taught him better. His face flushed, "So, uh-"

"This is Mayday  _Parker_ ," Spider-Woman suddenly said, her face contorted in a weird expression.

"Parker?" His hand pulled back like it'd been zapped, "Wait...are you, like, a female version of me-"

"What? No! God, no!" Mayday (calling her Spider-Woman was hard with the other Spider-Woman there) gestured through the air and shook her head, "I'm...okay, I was kinda hoping to avoid this cause some of you guys always freak out when you find out, but I'm uh...I'm Peter Parker's -  _my_  Peter Parker's - daughter."

"Daughter...?" It took a few seconds for the word to register in his mind, and when it did the first thing he wanted to do was scream. He didn't, though he ended up looking green in the face, "Um...so, that's good to know."

"See, this is why I didn't want to deal with that can of worms." Mayday - 'his'  _daughter_  - sighed and turned to Spider-Woman, "Why'd you have to bring it up?"

"I had to! He was going to ask you out!"

"What?! N-No I wasn't!" Peter said, though his voice came out more feebly than he liked.

"Oh, please, you were smiling like a doof and shaking her hand way too long! Any longer and you would've asked her about the weather!" Spider-Woman scoffed while Mayday's face suddenly had a look of someone who had seen something that could never be unseen, "Trust me, better we rip the band-aid now before it got all Game of Thrones in here."

"Okay, zip it! I've been traumatized enough!" Mayday held up both hands and made a noise of disgust that Peter shared. Ham just laughed, "Ugh...damn it, Gwen, couldn't you have handled it better?"

"Honesty is the best policy." Spider-Woman shrugged shamelessly.

"Wow, um..." Peter swallowed to keep himself from throwing up and looked at Mayday again, "So...who's your mom? I mean can I find that out or will that cause your timeline to just pop out of existence?"

"It's alternate dimensions, Pete, not time travel," Spider-Woman said, "Anyway, apparently you ended up with MJ, which is kinda weird for me since my world's MJ and Peter weren't even friends."

"MJ..." Peter coughed as soon as the realization hit. There was only one person with that nickname he knew, "I-I end up with  _Michelle_?" Not that there was anything wrong with Michelle, but considering she flipped him off at Homecoming he didn't think there was a lot of romance in that future.

"Michelle?" Mayday gave him a questioning look, "Who the heck's- no, MJ's short for Mary Jane. Mary Jane Watson?"

"Mary Jane..nope, sorry. I don't know anyone like that." Whoever she was she must've been a looker if Mayday was any- oh, God, make it stop!

"That makes one of us." Spider-Ham said, "In my world she's Mary Crane Watsow. My kid's Mayday Porker, if you're curious. She goes by Swiney girl."

Peter chose to ignore that in favor of covering his face with both hands and groaning. And he thought possibly dying was the most traumatizing thing he'd go through today. Spider-Woman used his trauma as a chance to speak up, "Look, Peter, could you give me a bit to talk with Karn? We need to find your home, so just sit tight."

"Yeah..." Peter took a few steps away from the old group and tried to put all vomit-inducing thoughts out of his head. He didn't know how these alternate dimensions worked, but the fact that he thought 'his' daughter was pretty was enough to make him wanna dunk his head in a bucket. One thing was for sure - he was  _definitely_  going to leave this out when he told Ned.

He stopped walking when he felt something crush underfoot. Looking down, he winced when he saw the mechanical spider twitching before it quickly deactived, "...Hope that wasn't too expensive." He scraped it off and watched as dozens of other mechanical spiders climbed around the webbing that covered the entirety of the room. What was it? He doubted it was just made by an oversized spider. Did the guy in the machine do it?

His eyes trailed after a few of the spiders before be caught sight of the dark figure skulking above, his face covered in a mask unlike the rest. Peter blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was there. A big guy dressed in all black, from his pants to his mask to his (kinda emo looking) trenchcoat. The two of the stared at one another, the other guy's face hidden under his mask, without either saying a word.

"Uh...hi?" Peter raised his hand and waved weakly.

He didn't say anything; just went back to focusing on the revolver in his hands. Peter was tempted to ask the others if he was supposed to be there before Mayday's voice came from behind him, "I see you met the grumpy uncle of our little family." The word 'family' made him cringe, but he managed to ignore it, "That's Spider-Man, though we just call him Noir because...well, just look at him."

"He doesn't mind?"

"Helps label. You'd be surprised how many Spider-Men pass through here." She crossed her arms and yelled, "Hey, Noir, get down here and say hi to our guest! Don't be rude!"

Peter heard him sigh before he dropped down. Peter stepped back slightly when he stood up to his full height. The guy was huge, "...Another one?" His voice came out in a rough rasp, like one of those 80's guys.

"Wait, what do you mean another one?" Peter asked.

"Either another Spider-Man or another Peter Parker. Both could apply to him," Mayday replied, "And yeah, to get that out of the way, he's the Peter Parker of his world, which is still in the 1930's. Like Ham said, Peter Parkers tend to be the go-to Spiders around the multiverse."

"Huh..." Well, at least he wasn't a cartoon pig. Still, did that mean he was going to end up looking like that when he got older? He kinda hoped so. 17 years old and still barely clearing 5'6. It was beginning to worry him, "So, uh, you're the Spider-Man in your world? What's that like?"

"You've read the history books," he muttered, "Let's just say you're lucky you ended up in a place that doesn't have genocidal racists in charge."

"Oh..." Right, World War II. Was that consistent throughout all the universes? If it was it kinda said bad things about how things were going, "So...why were you up there? And what were those bots for?"

"Keeping an eye on the web. Someone has to do it." He gave Mayday a pointed glance, which she responded to with an annoyed roll of the eyes, "The bots are supposed to do that, but people keep stepping on them." Peter cringed. He wondered how much it'd cost to pay back, "...I heard what happened to you. Someone sent you to Stacy's place?"

"Yeah...Thanos." Well, he couldn't be  _sure_  it was him, but he was pretty darn sure that it was.

"Thanos?" Mayday's brows furrowed worriedly, "I heard about him from dad. Something about how he got his hands on a gauntlet with six gems on it or something. Used it to kill half of the people in the universe because he was literally in love with death."

"Th-That's what he tried to do to us! Well...except for the in love with death thing. He did it because he thought the universe was overpopulated and that the only way to save everyone was to kill half of the people." It sounded crazy even saying it out loud. Peter was more into science than sociology or history, but he was pretty sure half the population suddenly being killed (transported to another dimension?) wouldn't solve any kind of problem.

"Love or a savior complex, madmen are madmen," Noir said, "I knew a guy who thought he could save the world by gassing innocent Jews to death. Didn't end so well for him."

"Yeah, yeah, you killed Hitler and Red Skull. That's impressive, but you don't have to keep bringing it up," Mayday said. Peter was more curious on what she'd been through to make killing Hitler and Red Skull seem boring.

"Wait, you had Thanos in your place?" he asked Mayday, who gave a nod in turn, "So...how did you guys beat him? Cause, like, Dr. Strange said there were 14 million something futures or something where we tried and failed."

"I...don't know exactly, sorry. It was before my time, back when my dad was still heroing, but I heard that they managed to undo the whole 'half of life got erased' thing. From what I heard Franklin Richards and the Fantastic Four ended up killing Thanos later, but I don't know the exact details. Maybe you could ask the F4 when you get back home?"

"We don't have a Fantastic Four..."

He was about to ask something else before Spider-Woman suddenly cut in, "Hey, Pete. Karn said the portal's ready. Apparently your world is Earth-19999?" It was? Huh, good to know. Spider-Woman turned from him to Noir and frowned, "Playing nice, Noir?"

"Don't have to worry about me, Stacy."

"Yeah, well, when you hide a sample of Venom and we have to find out after it dropped from your pocket during a fight..." Peter blinked. Venom? What did she mean by that? "We were lucky Pavitr was around to purify it. Seriously, getting a slice of demon goop? What in the fuck?"

"I was being  _prepared_." He scowled.

"No, you were being  _stupid,_ " Mayday said, deliberately slurring the word, "Next time maybe talk to your teammates instead of going behind our backs and nabbing something that nearly killed you guys while Billy and me were MIA?"

"Hasn't stopped Stacy from getting a little something of her own." He gestured to the floor next to her. Peter blinked in surprise at the group of small, black spiders that were crawling around. How did he not notice them before? "Pot calling the kettle black, huh?"

"Whatever, go back to your little brooding corner." She scoffed and walked towards the large blue portal in the center of the room. Peter got the feeling that there was bad blood between the two. Still, seeing it the portal a second time just wasn't as impressive, "Alright, so Karn rigged this place up so we could drop you off in a safe corner of New York. Right, Karn?"

"Yes, Ms. Stacy." Karn - the Vitorian era guy in the machine above them - said. His voice sounded off. Soft and raspy and muffled by his helmet, but besides that there was something about it that brought a chill down his spine "The portal should take him to his home."

"Oh...cool." Peter gulped nervously and looked back at Gwen, "Well...I guess this is it. Thanks for all your help."

"No prob." She smiled, "Go kick that big purple dude's ass. I'll drop by in a few days and give you a portal watch if you want it."

"Yeah, that'd be great." Peter took a deep breath and stepped closer to the portal. Once he got there he'd have to find Mr. Stark and May and everyone else and make sure they were all right. After that...well, Mr. Stark and the rest would know what to do, right? They had to.

He'd barely put a hand on the blue surface before he felt it, "No..." His spider-sense blared inside his skull, as strong as it did back in Titan. Before he could so much as let out a warning or a cry the biting chill from before returned. Peter raised his hand and screamed as the tips of his fingers turned to dust and blew away. It was happening. He was dying again.

"Peter!"

Peter fell and Spider-Women caught him, cradling him gently in her arms as best she could as she set him down on the ground. Just barely he heard Noir and Ham screaming too, the former groaning out a muffled curse while the latter squealed like a dying pig, "Karn, turn it off!" Noir screamed, his voice coming out in a hoarse scream, "God damn it, shut it off!"

The portal in front of him disappeared. Peter suddenly felt breath return and he sat up with a strangled gasp, Spider-Woman's arms wrapped around his shoulders to keep him steady. Behind him Noir was on his knees while Mayday patted his back and tried to her best to keep him upright. Ham was flat on the ground, his eyes blankly looking up at the ceiling.

"What...was that?" Ham said, "My spider-sense was going haywire, like I was being roasted over the world's worst spitfire."

"Yeah..." Noir stood up and pulled off his mask so he could breath easier, "What the hell did you do, Karn?"

"I did nothing untoward, Mr. Parker," Karn said. Despite the situation he was calm, creepily so, "Our previous method of transporation was damaging the web, so I merely tethered this chamber to the dimension briefly while the gate opened. This ensured that anything or anyone that passed through wouldn't cause damage. This also means, however, that anything that affected that strand of the the web affected us as well.

Mayday was the first to speak, "Meaning whatever happened back in Spider-Man's world..."

"It was happening here..." Peter finished. It happened the way he thought, then; he'd died, or at least it felt like it, "Thanos said that...that he was going to kill only half of everyone."

"Six of us in this room, three of us got punked. Seems about right," Ham looked down at his spilled sandwich and groaned, "Oh, my sandwich! Dang it!"

"Or it only affected Peter Parkers," Noir said, "If you turned to dust before ending up in Stacy's place then that means anyone like you is persona non grata as far as your place is concerned."

"Th-That's..." That meant he couldn't go back, right? Peter's breath increased in pitch and Spider-Woman hugged him tighter. It helped, "S-So, how am I going to..."

"You cannot, at least not as of this moment," Karn said, "Whatever event happened in your universe - this power that rendered half of all life non-existent - has left its mark on you as well. Until those that remain fix the problem or we find a way to shield you from its effects then you cannot return." He paused, "My apologies for this. I know what it's like to be banished from your home."

"B-But I can't be!" Peter stood up and stared Karn dead on with a pleading gaze, "Th-There has to be some other way! Maybe if we open the portal again we can-"

"You open that portal again and all three of us are gonna die." Noir snarled, "Kid, you got a raw deal, but committing suicide ain't gonna help."

"B-But...they need me." Mr. Stark, May, Ned, his friends, the entire universe...he could still fight, he could still try to undo whatever it was Thanos did to them all, "I can't just stay here and not do anything!"

"I will try to find a way to return you to you world, Mr. Parker, but until then you cannot take that risk," Karn said, "For now I suggest you return to Earth-65. Your presence here in the loomworld is a risk due to its proximity to the web of life itself."

"Wait, what?" Spider-Woman asked, "So you're saying he's stuck in my world?"

"It appears so, Ms. Stacy. Whatever force sent him there I can only assume that it meant for him to stay there as well, at least for the time being," Karin said, "Please send Mr. Parker back to your world. We must discuss recent events."

"But..." She looked down at Peter, her face etched in a frown, "I...okay. Peter, go back to the apartment for a bit, kay? I'll catch up."

Gwen opened another portal and watched him hesitate to go through. Suddenly she felt like an ass for that joke she played earlier. She waited till he was gone before looking back at Karn, "Okay, so what's the deal? Why can't we send him back? I mean I know you said that thing with connected dimensions, but-"

"I cannot send him back, not unless you wish his death." She cringed. No, she  _definitely_  didn't wish that, "I'm not aware of whether he was specifically marked for death by this Thanos or it was by chance, but the effects are all too clear. Mr. Parker is, to quote the dark Spider-Man, persona non-grata in that universe. I can only assume your world is a sanctuary for him."

"So...what do we do? You said that you'd try to find a way, but..."

"Something tells me the kid's gonna be stuck for a while," Noir said. Gwen scowled at him, "Hey, I wasn't the one who put him here, so ease up on the growling there, Stacy. You weren't the one who nearly got turned into chalk."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Noir. Seems like this is a long haul problem." Mayday crossed her arms and frowned, "We'll see what we can do here with Karn, so just call us if you need anything. We'll drop by and visit, make sure that d- uh,  _Peter_  is settling in alright."

"Yeah...count me out on that second part. Something tells me cartoon pigs aren't welcome wherever Spider-Gwen's staying," Ham said.

"Please stop calling me that." Gwen sighed. Bad enough that press was calling her that back home, cause apparently Spider-Gwen was  _so_ much catchier than Spider-Woman. Even some of the Supervills were getting in on it, "Alright, look, it's been a long day and I'm fucking beat. I'll let Pete stay over at my place till we think of a better solution. Anyone gets any ideas you contact me immediately, got it?"

"Sure, Gwen."

"Whatever you say, Stacy."

"Yupperino, Spider-Gwen."

Sighing, Gwen opened another portal to her apartment living room and trudged through it. This was a disaster. Her identity was outed just a few days ago and she definitely wasn't in the right place to be dealing with this right now. Then again, she thought glumly, it wasn't like she was at her best when she helped out Miles with that thing with his dad. At least this time she didn't have Murderdock hanging over her and the cops weren't chasing her any more.

Thank you, Captain America.

If there was one thing she didn't expect to see when she got through the portal, it was seeing Betty and Peter talking on the couch like all was right in the world. Her bandmate's head snapped up when she stepped through, her face locked in a grin, "Gwen! You're back!" Betty practically tackled her in an embrace. Betty was always the huggy type, but it went into overdrive recently, "I met your new pal! He's neat!"

"Uh...yeah, I guess he is?" She looked past Betty at Peter who only shrugged helplessly, a weak smile on his face.

"Can we keep him?" She went back to the couch and wrapped an arm around Peter's neck to pull him close, his head hitting against the side of her chest. His face flushed an adorable - where did  _that_  come from? - shade of red, though Betty didn't notice or care, "Please, can we keep him? I promise I'll feed him and walk him and give him belly rubs! And Murderface'll love him!"

"Betty, he's not a dog! And no, he's not a spider either!" Gwen was torn between groaning and laughing. Betty always had a way of up-ending the mood, "Look, he's gonna be staying here for a few, alright? He can take the couch."

"So...we  _are_  keeping him!" Before Gwen could say anything else she whooped and left, barely calling out an "I'm gonna go get some takeout!" as she did.

The two of them just stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds before Gwen sighed, "So...I had a chat with Karn. He, uh, said that he'll try to find a way to get you back, but till then it's best if you stayed here."

"Here? You mean, like, here in your apartment here?" Despite everything he still seemed to find that something to be embarrassed about. It was both funny and sad, "I mean, is that a good idea?"

"Well, unless you have any other place to stay."

"No. I mean, I don't know anyone else here..." He looked down.

"Thought so." She sighed, "Look, it's cool. You can stay here till we figure out something better. We're Spiders, we should be good at squeezing through." She grinned weakly and punched him in the shoulder, "Besides, Betty seems to like you."

"Yeah, she caught me when I was walking out that portal. Started asking me a lot of questions when she saw the costume." He laughed softly, "Still can't believe that's supposed to be Betty Brant. I mean, she doesn't look or act anything like the one I know."

"In your world I'm French and in another you end up marrying one of my best friends. The multiverse is a weird place." That wasn't even mentioning the versions of him that were either cartoon pigs or just annoying jackasses. Then again, a part of her thought bitterly, at least Ham and Noir were still  _alive,_  "I'll go find some shirts that can fit you. We'll talk tomorrow about what we can do, okay?"

"Yeah...and uh, thank you. For everything." Gwen stopped. It was odd, hearing those two simple words. Up until she'd been declared innocent the most common two words she got for her daring rescues were 'fuck off'. Sometimes she still got them, "I mean it. I'd be dead without you, Spider-Woman-"

"Gwen."

"Huh?"

"It's Gwen, remember? Not Spider-Woman, at least not to friends." She stuck her hand out and he took it in a firm handshake, "And don't worry about it. Like I said before, us Spiders gotta stick together."

"Yeah, well...thanks again, Gwen." He smiled.

"You're welcome, Pete."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, MCU Spidey is stuck and currently has no way back unless Karn manages to BS a way around the Infinity Stones. The next chapter will delve more into Gwen's current status quo, having the two protags talk more about themselves and, something I'm sure some readers are looking forward to, meeting the rest of the Mary Janes band. Given Spidey's reaction to Mayday (ick, ick, ick!) something tells me he might like redheads :P
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be longer, but again for the purposes of not dragging or overwhelming readers I try to keep to 5k-6k words.
> 
> Anyway, the next Spider-Gwen is coming out soon. Between that, the Into the Spider-Verse movie and Spider-Geddon (that has both Noir and Gwen it :D ) I'm definitely getting a lot of material for both this and Looking Glass.
> 
> Question:
> 
> 1\. Where do you want the focus to be for the story? I'm currently torn between doing villain of the week stories or just sidelining the bad guys and action in favor of just a Superhero slice of life between the two leads. So far I'm leaning towards the latter to fit the tone. That's not to say there won't be fighting or action, but it'll be rare and more a way for the leads to interact and bond.
> 
> 2\. Would you guys prefer a more limited/focused cast or a more varying one? The dimensional portal allows the story access to other dimensions, so characters like the ones from 616 or Amazing 8 (utopia where Gwen married Miles) could work...or even Tsum Tsum Spider-Man, if MCU isn't enough of a cinnamon roll. If we wanna keep it focused then we'll just stick to Earth-65 with the occasional visits to Loomworld.


	3. Nowhere else to Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This'll be the last of the setup/exposition chapters. After this the characters will settle into a more comfortable status quo and I can focus more on slice of life with the occasional Supervillain attack to keep things fresh. So far I don't plan to include any big villains like in Looking Glass, mostly cause going home is an actual tangible goal that (hopefully) won't be forgotten.
> 
> Speaking of slice of life, I'm still trying to determine how far the characters go. In Looking Glass characters indulged in drinking, one night stands and (mostly for Noir) various other vices. This doesn't really fit the tone here, though Gwen does canonically go clubbing and presumably drinking despite being 19. It'll be a bit of a balancing act with cinnamon roll Spidey being one of the protags...
> 
> Side Note - I saw a preview for the upcoming Spider-Gwen. Not saying anything, but...yeah, I can't use it to add to this fic. Ah well.

Dinner was...actually kinda fun, Peter thought. Thoughts about what happened just a couple of hours prior still jumped around his head, but Betty and Spi- er, Gwen, helped distract him. Betty especially. Gwen warned him earlier that she could be 'overwhelming', but the last thing he expected was for her to come literally bouncing back with bags full of takeout and a cat wrapped around her head like a hat.

"So this big Rhino guy goes after Captain Stacy like 'pow'!" Betty said, swinging her chopsticks through the air enthusiastically. For the past hour he just listened to her talk about Gwen's 'Spider-Woman tales', or so Betty called them. He had to admit, she'd had an eventful past year. Almost made his fight with Liz's dad and that weird scorpion dude kinda boring when he looked back at it.

Gwen herself was mostly quiet, pitching in only when Betty's stories got too far. According to her, she definitely did  _not_  'suplex Frank Castle through a window and then teabag his unconscious body'. He mostly wondered how the cat managed to stay on Betty's head despite how often she moved and jumped around.

"So, what about you?" Betty asked, mouth full of noodles. If Aunt May were here she would've said something about table manners, "Like, Gwen said you're a Spider-Man like the pig or the Indian dude, so do you have any badass stories?"

"Um...not really. I mean, I had some fights here and there, but..." He wasn't really in the sharing mood, not after how their last fight ended. He still wasn't sure if Mr. Stark and the others were alright at this point.

"Oh, come on, you gotta have something!" Betty said, "Seriously, you don't just put on a costume and go around stopping jaywalkers, right?"

"Well, not  _jaywalkers_ , no..." More old ladies who needed directions and bike thieves. There was that one guy with a crowbar, but he actually owned the car. He felt pretty bad about him being stuck there for a couple of hours, "I mean...there was that big fight in the airport we had against Captain America's team." And Liz's dad a few months later, but he also didn't like thinking about that. At least no one was trying to kill him in the airport fight.

"Woah, woah! You fought Captain America?" Gwen gave him an exaggerated look of worry, "Did I take a supervillain Spider in? Cause trust me, Spider-Carnage was a whole thing back in Octavia's world and Noir's pretty damn close to it sometimes."

"What? No, no, no! It was- er," He sighed, "There was this thing where the government kinda decided that the Avengers - that's a superhero team, by the way - should, like, have some rules in place with the government or something. They called it the Sokovia Accords. Cap thought that they worked better on their own, Mr. Stark said they weren't and there was this whole thing with Cap's friend Bucky getting framed for bombing the UN embassy and..."

"Wow, and you said you didn't have anything." Betty grinned. It was actually kinda creepy. Most people weren't really happy when he told them this story; Aunt May definitely wasn't, "So, who was in this fight?"

"Um, well, it was me, Mr. Stark - Iron Man's his Superhero name -, War Machine, that Black Panther Guy, Agent Romanoff and a robot Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner made called Vision. Cap had his guys-"

"Wait, Captain America's a guy in your world?" Betty asked.

"Uh...yeah?"

"Huh...that's weird." Wait, was this world's Captain America a woman? Well, given that it had a Spider-Woman instead of a Spider-Man maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised, "So, like, there was this entire civil war about this whole thing? Team Cap or Team Iron whatever that dude's name is? By the way, am I the only one who finds it weird that Tony Stark is a superhero?"

"Definitely not just you, but apparently he's a hero in just about every other dimension except ours," Gwen said, "Even Murderdock's a hero, if you can believe it. From what I heard from Jess apparently he's the Kingpin's arch-nemesis and he runs around dressed like big red devil."

"And yet you're the only Superhero in our world, Spider-Gwen." Betty hugged Gwen close, the cat mewling softly as Gwen laughed.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Powers are kinda rare here, Pete. I've been through a bunch of different worlds with the Web Warriors, and yeah, there are a  _lot_ of dimensions where you can't go two blocks without running into someone with a costume and powers, but here it's rarer than winning the lottery. It's basically just me, this Agent Drew guy, and Shadowcat and her dad. No idea where the last two are and last I checked Agent Drew's back to normal after he gave me his power ups."

"Wait, so who stopped the Chitauri invasion or Ultron?"

"We didn't have those here. And hopefully we don't cause those two names don't exactly inspire warm fuzzies." Gwen said, "Anyway, you were saying something about an airport fight?"

Exchanging was stories was fun. He still didn't like thinking about a lot of things, but it was interesting to hear just how different everything was. First, apparently the (kinda) crazy person next to Gwen really was Betty Brant. How the genetics of that worked out he had no clue, but there it was. There were a bunch of other things too: Mr. Stark never became Iron Man, Sam(antha) Wilson was Captain America, her female clone was Falcon, a blind lawyer  _was_  the Kingpin, S.H.I.E.L.D was still active and led by Peggy Carter and...

And there were no Avengers.

That struck a cord in him more than anything, even above Mr. Stark 'demolishing childhood dreams to make mini malls', to use Betty's words. The Avengers were only made a few years ago, but for him they already felt like a staple of everyday life; like Ganke making awesome legos or Aunt May burning the meatloaf every couple of nights.

Gwen said it wasn't an odd thought - apparently her friend Jess was a member of the Avengers in another dimension and she worried about it too - but she didn't see the big deal. Apparently this dimension was pretty boring compared to everywhere else, blind lawyer Kingpins notwithstanding.

It was all going well...until he stepped right on the landmine.

"So...it's kinda obvious you know me. Peter Parker, I mean." Gwen's chopstick paused mid-air. He should've taken that as a cue to shut up, but he kept talking, "What's he like? I mean I'm guessing he's not Spider-Man, but does he know who you are?"

Whatever happy mood in the table disappeared, replaced by a sudden quiet that made his spine tingle nervously. Gwen looked down at her food, grip on her chopsticks shaky and her expression twitching. Betty wasn't much better. The brunette looked between Peter and Gwen and tried to say something, but all that came out were a few muttered 'ums' and 'ers'.

"I'm...I'm full." Gwen set her noodles down and stood, "Just dunk it in the trash when you guys are done. Spider-Man, you can take the couch."

Spider-Man? Why was she- "Wait, was it something I-"

"Goodnight."

She trudged to the other room and shut it behind her without another word. Peter looked down at the cold food in his hands and set it down on the table, "Yeah, I'm...I'm not hungry either." He wasn't an idiot. Something about the Peter Parker of this world set her off, but he had no idea what. She didn't hate him, so he couldn't have been some kind of Supervillain here, right?

"Shit, I shoulda figured this would happen." Betty sighed, "Look, Petey, it ain't you. It's just...she has issues with the guy."

"Issues? D-Does she hate him?"

"What? Balls no, dude. That'd be easy." She sighed again. It must've been really serious, "It ain't my place to say anything. If she wants to say something then she'll say it. Just give her some time."

"I don't...is he a bad guy?"

"...No, he wasn't. Least I don't think so."

 _Wasn't._ He doubted Betty noticed the slip of the tongue, but he caught it clear as day. Peter suddenly felt like throwing up, though he held it in till Betty was out of the room. He put away the containers in a haze. What did she mean by that? Was it just a mistake and he was reading too much into it? Best case scenario he and Gwen just weren't on speaking terms anymore, but the worst case...

_"It's just...you're younger than I thought you'd be."_

Did she mean something by that? She said the other Spider-Men she knew were older than that, but was he just comparing him with them or the Peter Parker she knew?

...Rrgh, it was giving him a headache.

Peter found himself on the couch with an old, scratchy quilt for a blanket. At least he wasn't alone, "Keeping me company, little guy?" He smiled and scratched at the cat draped across his chest. So far it didn't do much besides sleep and glare at him every time he moved, but he found it comforting regardless. Cats didn't judge, even if they looked like they were damning you to fluffy hell every time they looked at you.

His head lolled to look at the table. The nanomachines - son!...heh, sorry - were back in their compartment. He wanted to keep using them, but he didn't know how they worked except for the basics of the basics. Something to keep him busy, at least. Next to the compartment was his old suit and mask, both of which were covered in tears and smudges of dirt. The fight on Titan really took a toll, nanotech or no.

He was almost asleep before his spider-sense tingled. Danger, but not an attack. Not exactly, "What...?" He grabbed Murderface (weird name) and stood up, walking towards the window. His spider-sense beat against his skull like the world's laziest drum. Eyes narrowed, he pulled back the curtains ever so slightly and peered through the outside.

It didn't take him long to spot the guy with the camera on the opposite roof.

"Crap!" He stumbled back and grabbed his mask and one of his webshooters. No time to put on the full costume. The guy was definitely looking in on Gwen's room, he was sure of it. A mob spy? A stalker with a crush? Didn't matter, he couldn't let it continue.

He put on the mask and webshooter and jumped out the window. He looked silly - a guy in a red mask, an oversized band shirt, shorts and a pair of socks climbing up a roof - but he didn't care. He had more things to worry about than his image.

Peter barely managed to make it up to the roof before he called out, "Hey, you know it's not nice to spy on people!"

The guy turned and Peter got a better look at him. Young - probably mid-30's - with a dark, patchy beard and a big cap that covered most of his features. His blue eyes were wide with shock and, before Peter could do anything, he jumped.

In hindsight he should've seen the fire escape, but people jumping to their seeming deaths had a habit of causing him to panic. Peter ran over to the edge and groaned when he saw the guy jump from the fire escape and run down the alley like a pro athlete, the camera held close to his chest like a baby. There was only one kind of person he'd seen like that before.

Paparazzi.

Peter jumped down and gave chase. Why was a journalist (and he used that term  _very_  loosely) stalking Gwen? Was she famous outside of being Spider-Woman? She said she was in a band with her friends, so was that it?

He didn't get much of a chance to think about it before Spider-Woman landed in front of the photographer in full costume, "Another one? I thought you guys would take the hint after I sent that last guy packing!" Her voice was loud, annoyed, but different from when she talked to that creepy Noir guy back in the chamber. Now she actually sounded angry, "This is my home, asshole!"

"It's a free country, lady, and you're the big news!" The guy defended shamelessly. Peter had to give him props; guy had guts. Gwen didn't say anything, but Peter thought grabbing the camera and crushing it in her hands said enough of a message, "Hey, you have any idea how much that cost me?!"

"Don't care. I'm not warning you assholes again. You try and stalk me in my home next time I'm webbing you guys to the lamp posts!"

"That's a crime!"

"And so's stalking and taking pictures without someone's consent! Eye for an eye, TMZ," She grabbed him by the scruff of his jacket and pushed him to the end of the alley, "Now leave before I decide to call the police and press charges, cause I can do that now! Spider-Woman's not a criminal anymore! I served my time! Get that through your thick skulls!"

The guy grumbled and cursed, but he left all the same. Gwen looked at his retreating form briefly, eyes narrowed, before she let out a frustrated breath and punched the brick wall hard enough to crack it. More of the spiders from before pooled around where she just hit, "Fuck. I'm getting sick of this shit..." She took a deep breath and turned to face him. For a second he thought about swinging away before she said, "...Nice Spider jammies."

"Huh...?" It took a few seconds to realize that she'd just made a joke, "Um...what?"

"Guess my funnies aren't that good tonight." She sighed, "Come on, let's get back. I'll make some hot chocolate."

Five minutes later the two of them were back on the couch nursing a (lukewarm) cup of hot choco each. Peter looked down at his cup and tried to ignore the spiders that jumped in and out of her suit. Those were  _definitely_ not normal, "So..." he started slowly, still unable to meet her gaze, "That guy was paparazzi, right? I mean I just assumed, but-"

"Yeah, he was." She took a frustrated sip of her drink, "I...my identity got exposed a year ago. It's a long story, but I...I guess I thought that maybe things would be better if people knew, if I didn't have to hide anymore. Went to prison for year, got out, thought that'd be it for a second there."

"It didn't?"

"Nah, paps are still real eager to snag pics of me like I'm the newest Kardashian." She smiled sardonically, "No Supervill attacks so far, thank fuck, but it's getting more and more annoying. The band hasn't taken any gigs since my outing and I haven't even gone to school. I'm not even sure if I haven't flunked considering the whole year in prison thing"

"...Sorry." He didn't know why he apologized, but it felt appropriate.

"Why? Last I checked you're not the Kingpin." She grinned, though it was weak, "Besides, you've got it worse than me. I'm sorry we couldn't send you back. I know this must be terrible."

"I...I'm not sure." He set the untouched drink down, "I...I felt myself dying, Gwen. I shouldn't be here right now, but I am." He took a deep breath, "Before we fought Thanos Dr. Strange said he looked into millions of futures and there was only one where we won. After Thanos got away and we all started...dying, he looked at Mr. Stark and said...'it was the only way'."

"What do you think that means?"

"Maybe...Maybe it means we haven't lost. I mean I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm not. I'm here, still...I can still fight. Maybe I'm just not meant to go back  _yet_ , you know? Maybe Dr. Strange or Mr. Stark will just send a message somehow when I have to go back and help fight. I-I mean, it makes sense, right? Why else would he say that if we just lost?"

"I...I dunno, Pete. I dunno." She pursed her lips, "I don't know what you went through, so I'm not gonna say you're right or wrong. I just know you're alive now, and that's good thing."

"Yeah..." There had to be a way out of this. There  _had_  to, he had to keep to that hope, "So...um," He gulped, "Could I...ask you about Peter Parker?"

"I knew this was coming," She laughed, soft and bitter, "I acted fucking weird at dinner, right?"

"Well..." He shrugged, trying to be light.

"Sorry about that. I've gotten better at dealing with it, but it's still a bit of a sore spot. Okay, okay, Peter Parker is..." She took a deep breath, "He was my best friend. We moved to Queens when I was like six or seven and we were neighbors with the Parkers. We were best friends on Day 1. Peter didn't have friends - no one liked the same things he did - and I was the new kid on the block. We just clicked, you know?"

"I guess. Me and Ned were kinda the same when we first met."

"We did everything together. Dad was overprotective, but he didn't have to worry. I didn't think of him like that." There was something bitter in her words, "Things changed when I went on that field trip. Stop me if you heard this before - bitten by radioactive spider, fainted, then woke up accidentally breaking stuff and finding out you could cling to walls. Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Y-Yeah, except for the radioactive part. I think the spider that bit me was genetically modified."

"Not surprised. Mayday was born with her powers, Ham was bitten by a radioactive pig, Anya got magic tattoos and Noir got bitten by a magic fucking spider that made him trip balls. Guess the Spider-God or whatever Karn calls it likes to vary it up, huh?"

"Haha, yeah..."

"Well, like I said, things changed. I was a celebrity when I got my powers. Everyone was interested in the shiny new superhuman with the kickass costume. I was riding high on that. Got more confident, spent less time with my friends and more making talkshow appearances. I felt invincible."

"So what happened?"

"Peter was...he was always bullied. Carl King, Sally Avril and the jackasses at school. To them he was just an easy target. I never stood up for him before, not really, but with my new powers...it was easy. I wasn't afraid of them hitting me anymore or having to run to dad for help. What could they do, right? I can dodge anything they throw at him and lift them with one pinky."

"I know that feeling." That party back at Liz's place. It was  _so_ tempting to show up Flash and prove him wrong.

"Maybe I should've just kept a lid on it. I dunno if me stepping up for him like some kind of glorified bodyguard helped or not, but in the end it didn't matter. A while later Peter took Dr. Connors' research notes. He was doing research on Lizards, trying to help vets grow back their arms and legs the same way lizards grow back their tails."

"Sounds like a good cause."

"Yeah, it was." Her hands clenched into shaky fists, "Peter...used it for something else. He was tired of being bullied, tired of being unable to fight back and...and he wanted to be  _special_." She spat out the word like a curse, "The serum he made...it turned him into a monster. A giant four ton Lizard...he was so warped that I didn't even recognize him. All I saw was a giant monster that would've hurt everyone else so I-"

"Gwen-"

"I killed him." She closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath, "Mr. Nelson and Cap argued extenuating circumstances, self-defense and all that crap, but I still can't help but think I could've done  _something_. I...Peter begged me to stop, but I just thought he was stalling, and I was...I was angry and frustrated and  _scared_. I thought that if I let up for even a second I'd lose and because of that I-"

She never got to finish before Peter pulled her into a sudden embrace. She was frozen stiff at the gesture, hands still clenched into tight fists, before she eventually reciprocated. He didn't know how much it helped her, but back then, when he'd blamed himself for Uncle Ben's death, Aunt May just hugged him. It helped him, so maybe it could do the same for her.

They stayed that way for about a minute before they eventually separated, "...Thanks." She smiled. It was small and strained, but sincere.

"It's fine." He did his best to smile back, "I dunno if I can say this, but...it doesn't sound like it was your fault. Like you said you didn't know it was him, right? I mean when you see a giant lizard your first thought isn't..." He shook his head, "I just...I dunno where I was going."

"Don't worry, I get it." She laughed softly, "My Peter...he was the farthest thing from Spider-Man. He was a guy who loved to play D&D and followed me around like a puppy. Seeing some of the other Peter's is hard sometimes, but they're just different enough: Pavitr's Indian - and God that sounds fucking racist-, Ham's a pig, Noir's an asshole, the Spider-Man in Jess and Cin's place is like some super CEO...they all have the same face, but they're just different enough."

"What about me...?"

"You? Well..." She pressed her hands together, "I don't really know you that well, not yet, but..." She sighed, "You're the same age he was...when he died."

"Oh..." Peter rubbed the back of his head, "Would it help if I put the mask on?"

"What? God, that'd just make this more awkward." She laughed, "Look, it's fine, okay? Sorry for making this weird, it's just that I didn't think this was gonna happen today, you know? I kinda hoped I'd take a bigger break from the dimension hopping thing, focus more on my dimension.

"Huh, that sounds..." Change the subject, darn it. Anything was better than talking about this, "Dimension hopping. That sounds like a story."

"You'd think, but it's mostly the same thing everywhere. Supervillains do supervillainy stuff, sexy guys and gals in spandex stop them." She winked, "Although...there was that one time we went to Earth-69, but I don't think that's for innocent ears."

"Hey, I'm 17!"

"So you keep saying." She grinned, "Let's just say the multiverse apparently has a sense of humor and Earth-69 lived up to its namesake. Apparently in that place Superheroes and Supervillains settle their differences... _differently_ compared to the normal punching and kicking we get up to."

"...What the heck happened?"

"Look, it was a traumatizing experience all around. We got a distress signal that apparently the world was in danger. I'll spare you the details, but by the end of it Anya was crying for an adult, Pavitr took an extended leave of absence, Noir had most of his clothes off and was trying to drink himself stupid to forget, Mayday was rocking back and forth in the corner after that version of her dad tried for a Lannister thing, Ham spent the entire rest of the day throwing up and Billy actually tried to destroy the portal so we could never go back."

"You mean..." Why was he both scared and intrigued?

"Yeah, apparently the distress signal was less a 'cry for help' and more a 'cry for more people in skintight spandex'. All of us needed a change of costume after it was all said and done. Hell, Noir and Mayday burned their suits just to make sure." She let out an amused breath, "We all collectively agreed that we would never speak of it again after that.."

"...Wait, you told me how the others reacted, what about you?"

"What about me? I was cool as a cucumber."

"Uh...bullshit?"

"Ah, ah, language! There are children in the room!" She gestured to the sleeping Murderface on the table.

"C-Come on, be honest!"

"Fine, fine! I may or may not have run into my counterpart who expressed an interest in what it'd be like to make out with herself." Alright...less scared and more intrigued now, "And she may or may not have already planned on how to incorporate webbing into said interest and had...diagrams and live demonstrations prepared in advance."

"Ha!"

"But I was cool as cucumber! I stand by that!" It would've been more convincing if her cheeks weren't red. The two of them looked at one another for a moment before breaking out into a fit of laughter, "...My life's so  _stupid_!I ever tell you about the time I rode a flying pig in a cartoon world?"

"You are now."

They spent the next few hours just talking. It was nice, to forget how insane the past few hours had been, albeit only because Gwen explained how insane the rest of her life was. Mostly he was interested on the whole thing with the 'Inheritors' and how apparently they were feeding on Spiders all across the multiverse. She said he was luck to have missed it, but he wondered if he could have helped.

He didn't even remember falling asleep, but he was woken up by the sound of the door slamming open, "Yo, Gwencent, rise and shine!" That wasn't a voice a recognized. One hand groped for his mask (failed) while the other raised the quilt to cover him better (kinda succeeded), "Up and at em, Spider-Gwen, we got- who the fuck are you?"

Peter blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at the new arrivals. One closer to him was a Black woman dressed in a gray tanktop, jeans and red sneakers. She looked at him with obvious suspicion: eyes narrowed, lips pursed and her arms crossed in a way that reminded him of Aunt May every time he tried to convince her that skipping school one time to be Spider-Man was a good idea.

The one behind her drew his attention more. The first thing he noticed was the shocking head of red hair barely covered by a black beanie. She was dressed in typical punk style - a long sleeved gray shirt covered by a brown vest, red shorts, ripped tights and brown boots. Unlike her friend she didn't look at him with suspicion and more with a muted surprise.

...Why did she remind him of Mayday?

"Uh..."

He was stopped from voicing his eloquent response by Gwen suddenly opening the door to her room, "Don't you guys ever knock?" Gwen groused. Her costume was gone, replaced by an oversized shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Betty wasn't far behind her, the brunette yawning lazily and grabbing the sleeping cat from the table without a care.

"You gave us a key for a reason, Gwencent." The redhead jiggled a key and grinned at the irate blonde, "Speaking of which, back on topic: who's your guest? You taking in strays now?"

"Yup!" Betty said, "He's our new Spiderling. I'm taking him and Murderface on a walk later."

"Betty, would you just..." Gwen ran a hand through her messy hair, "This is, uh, Peter Parker. You guys should know who that is."

"...What the fuck?" The Black girl (he was starting to feel kinda racist...) said.

"Yeah, I'm with Glory. What is he, a zombie? A clone? A zombie clone?" The redhead asked.

"Zombie cl- don't be fucking stupid!" Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose, "He's from another dimension, okay? He got stuck here because of a long story I don't wanna repeat and I let him stay over for a bit. Couldn't just leave him out on the streets."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" The redhead said. She seemed way too calm about this, "So, is he the the Indian guy or the one from the 30's? Cause he's definitely not the pig."

"Neither. He's a new guy." Gwen rolled her eyes and looked down at him, "Lemme introduce everyone. The one giving you the stink eye is Gloria Grant, but we just call her Glory. Don't mind the glaring, she's just overprotective. The redhead is Mary Jane Watson; MJ to most people." She put a hand on his shoulder, "This is Spider-Man, Peter Parker under the mask. Everyone please play nice."

"N-Nice to meet you..." He stuck his free hand out, the other still holding onto the blanket.

"Heh, same." Mary Jane smiled and shook his hand. Well, at least she was friendly- wait. Mary Jane...MJ...Mayday's mother was...

Mary Jane blinked in surprise when Peter pulled back and fell over the couch, "Uh...are you okay?" Peter looked up at her through widened eyes, his mouth hanging agape in shock, "Uh...I think he's broken."

"Y-You're Mary Jane Watson!" Peter said.

"...That's my name, don't wear it out? What, am I famous rockstar in your world or something? Please say yes. I need the ego boost."

"Pfft, like you need an excuse to be even more of a drama queen," Glory teased.

"You love me for it." Mary Jane rolled her eyes and offered Peter a hand, "So, really, what's with the big gasp? Do you know me?"

"N-No, but you're Mayday's m-"

"Ahahaha, Pete, we need to talk!" Before he could utter back a response Gwen grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the other room. Peter was too stunned stupid to say a word till she slammed the door shut, cutting off her three friends from view.

"Th-That was-"

"Ixnay on the MJ being a mom thing!" Gwen hissed, looking between him and the door, "I'm still easing them into the whole 'I'm a superhero who can travel between dimensions' stuff. You start blabbing about alternate universes and they're  _never_ gonna stop asking questions. I already regret telling them about the Web Warriors and Loomworld. MJ's got it in her head that she can bring rock and roll to that place and be some rocker messiah."

"...Could she?"

"I dunno, I didn't ask Karn! We had more important problems!" Gwen sighed, "Just put a lid on it, okay? I have enough to worry about without adding this to the pile."

"Uh...okay, sure." Peter nodded nervously, "Still, that's Mayday's mom, huh? Wow...I mean, she's...um-"

"...Oh my God, you have a crush on her." Gwen groaned and rubbed the sides of her temples, "Just what we needed, huh? Spider-Man loves Mary Jane."

"Wh-What? I don't..." It was just...well, she was  _hot_ , and he had to wonder what kind of game his alternate universe counterpart if he was able to get together with her and get a daughter out of the deal. He couldn't even get a prom date without her crying by the end of the night...though in fairness he blamed that more on Mr. Toomes being an arms dealer who put alien weapons on the streets.

"Talk to me when you get rid of that tomato you have for a head." She laughed under her breath and his blush (darn it!) worsened, "Look, I get it, she's pretty and she's got a great voice, but could we maybe worry more about the immediate things first? We need to buy you a change of clothes and I gotta find a new job before rent comes in a couple weeks and get back to classes..."

"I-I can find work. I mean, it's not like I'll be doing anything else for a while..." Not until that Karn guy managed to do something, at least.

"Appreciate the offer, but you don't exactly have any papers and you're even younger than I am. Listen, me and the girls are gonna practice. You can take off if you want. Should be some money on the counter."

"C-Could I stay? You said you were in a band and I wanna hear what you music you guys have."

"...You just wanna stare at MJ, don't you?"

"Wh-What?! No, I-"

"I'm just joshing you, Pete. It's cool...just hope you don't mind being in your jammies around four girls."

"...Why do you do this to me?" Peter both hands on his face and groaned.

"Because it's way too easy." She laughed, "Come on, MJ'll be happy to play in front of someone new. You can put on the Spidey suit if it makes you feel more comfortable. Not gonna judge."

"Would you just-" Peter let out a frustrated breath. It was just a joke, but it was better than looking like this, right? "...I'm putting on the suit."

"Ha!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done. Apologies for Gwen pretty down for most of the chapter; I'll try to have her be more cheerful in future chapters. Anyway, Gwen and MCU have started getting along better and MCU's gotten a (teeny tiny) crush on Mary Jane. Do you guys like his chances? Maybe it's just me but I'm kinda doubtful considering her first impression was seeing him in his (technically Gwen's...) jammies.
> 
> Next chapter will have MCU working in Starkbucks to earn some rent and getting a certain AI back online. Meanwhile Gwen's either going back to college and dealing with the fallout of being a public hero or she meets up with 616 Silk and Jessica Drew and discusses her new Spider problem. Dunno which yet, might just flip a coin.
> 
> On a personal note, it felt...weird writing that convo between MCU and Gwen about 65-Peter. The last time I did that in Looking Glass the tone was massively different and the two leads were still in friction with one another. I gotta say, I'm actually not that used to writing two well-balanced and stable individuals making fast friends. Really gotta work on this. At least this fic is good practice in that regard.


	4. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets a job and Gwen talks with her Spider friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to this :P This took me a few hours to do - constantly distracted by other shit - but hopefully this works out. This chapter ended up feeling like filler. The next one should hopefully be better.
> 
> Anyway, I heard Silk/Cindy Moon is gonna get her own movie :D It being led by Sony has me wary, but I do hope that they make it work since Silk, at least after she got her own ongoing/got away from Dan Slott, is one of my favorite Spiders. That and her issues feel like classic Amazing Spider-Man for the most part.

Over a week passed. Peter wished he could say that everything worked out best and they'd kicked Thanos' butt and saved the day, but that was far from the truth. He was still here in Gwen's home - Earth-65, according to her transporter watch - with no progress made. According to what Gwen told him the rest of the Web Warriors were definitely trying to fix it and they'd tell him as soon as they made any progress.

No luck so far, though they did confirm that 'Peter Parker' was persona non grata as far as Earth-19999 (how did the watch know what to name them?) was concerned. Apparently Ham, Noir and someone else called Pavitr couldn't even be in the same room or they'd start doing the dust shuffle. It wasn't good news, but at least it helped put things more into perspective.

Last he checked they were gearing up to actually go to his home and see the damage, though Billy - Spider-UK, cause apparently naming Spiders after countries was a whole thing - said it would 'take weeks of preparation and training'. He wanted them to both hurry up and postpone that part.

So he was here, just trying to keep himself from going nuts thinking about what happened to everyone back home. He mostly stayed at Gwen's place. A part of him was was antsy and wanted to patrol, but Gwen told him it was a bad idea right now.  _Spider-Woman just got declared innocent so wait a week or two_ , she'd said. He didn't like it, but she knew best in this place.

He actually didn't see Gwen all that much. She was always busy with something, either visiting someone she didn't want to tell him about (he didn't pry) or doing something with this world's Captain America (Samantha Wilson, while her male clone was Falcon). Most days he just hung out with Betty and Murderface or tried to hack through the training wheels program that Mr. Stark put extra security in. He felt kinda guilty just sitting around while Gwen brought home the bacon.

Which led him here.

"I'll have a slice of pizza to go."

Working in retail.

"Wh-What? Um..." Peter looked back down at the list, "We, uh, we don't sell pizza here. Dollar Dog, you know? It's, uh, just the hotdogs. Cordnogs, actually." The old owner was very clear about that. No burgers, pizzas, ice cream, pretzels or drugs. Just corndogs.

"Oh...well how about some ice cream?"

"We don't have that either. Again, just the hotdogs."

"Ugh, fine." The guy rolled his eyes, like it was somehow Peter's fault that this was a hotdog place, ""I'll take two corndogs, hold the mayo."

"Coming right up!" Peter smiled (company policy) and picked up two of the corn dogs from the heater. The Dollar Dog - which had the creepiest mascot - was willing to hire anyone and didn't look too close at the whole 'no papers in this dimension' problem he had. Heck, he was pretty sure the manager didn't look up from his phone once during the interview. As long as he had two hands and didn't spit in the dogs he was hired.

He did try to work for Baskin-Robbins a couple days ago, but they found out something was up and he had to leave. Apparently Baskin-Robbins  _always_  found out. At least he got a mango fruit blast out of it.

The young man with the purple dyed hair put the bills on the counter and left without a word, a huff in his step. Peter's smile twitched and he put the money in the register. He'd worked in bodegas before - Mr. Delmar's place gave all employees a discount for the best sandwiches in Queens - so he knew a bit on what to expect. Still, the...'clientele' in this place was enough to jar him out.

"Oh, dude, I think I'm gonna..."

Speaking of which.

Peter turned to the source of the voice and cringed when one of the customers vomited out the (free, they made that very clear) artinasal pickle water, "Clean up on aisle two," one of his bosses said, not even looking up from his phone.

Mr. Albie - the old owner - grumbled and made his way for the mop. Peter beat him to it, "I'll do it, sir."

"Hmph, do what you want." He threw up his hands and grumbled some more. Peter didn't blame him. From what he heard a Supervillain attacked the place and he had to sell, so now he was taking orders from some guy half his age while he did most of the work. Peter didn't exactly agree with the whole 'I'm older so I have the right to be bitter about young people' thing, but he still felt sorry for the guy considering most of the other 'employees' spent more time facegabbing than working. Being friends with the new boss apparently paid.

He mopped up the mess and sighed. Today was the end of his first week and his boss agreed to give him an advance on his bi-monthly paycheck. He'd been making progress on hacking through the defenses Mr. Stark put up. Apparently he  _really_ wanted to make sure Peter couldn't get all that cool stuff back.

The day was almost out when it happened. Peter's first thought when he saw the guy in the green jacket, jail shirt and domino mask was Hamburglar, though the smell was more trashman. Peter covered his nose and breathed through his mouth as the smell of garbage wafted up his nostrils. He'd gone dumpster diving before for parts. Was that what he smelled like to Aunt May and Ned?

"People, people, you know the drill!" he shouted confidently. No one looked up from their phones, both the employees and the few customers that remained content to focus on their own thing. Only Mr. Albie paid him any mind, and he looked more annoyed than anything else, "That's right, the Bodega Bandit is back in business! Give up the corndogs or face the consequences!"

"Yeah, yeah," his boss said, still not looking him in the eye, "Corndogs in plastic wraps. See you next week, bandit."

Was this...a robbery? It definitely looked like it, but the lack of caring by everyone made it seem more like a bad advertisement.

"What, really?" The burglar(?) blinked in surprise before quickly regaining his composure, "I mean...good! I'll be back next week!"

Peter watched him go. Was he supposed to stop him? He didn't pay for the food, but it was already prepared for him. Was it a call order? "Um...what was that?" he whispered to Mr. Albie, "Was he a bad guy?"

"He's definitely a smelly one," He crinkled his nose in disgust, "That's Bodega Bandit. He's a nuisance; goes through the Bodegas around this area and starts demanding food, arcade machines...anything he thinks will 'up his street cred' or whatever you kids call it." Peter was pretty sure no one said that anymore, but he let him continue, "Most of us stopped bothering trying to stop him. He never stays in jail."

"Why?"

"Who knows?" Mr. Albie shrugged, "Always out before the day's done, that one. We learn to live with him. Like a bad fungus infection."

"Gross..." Peter watched the bandit's retreating form through the glass window. It wasn't right, him just getting away with that. He knew he promised Gwen that he'd let him out, but... "Hey, uh, do you mind if I take my break real quick?"

Two minutes later he'd changed into his costume and was swinging through the city in search of El Bandito. He had to admit, it was a relief to be up in the air again; almost made him forget about how screwed up things were. A bunch of people saw him and immediately started taking pictures. He made sure to wave before turning the corner; always good to say hi to people.

El Bandito didn't get far. Peter found him in an alley, humming and practically skipping, his arms filled to the brim with wrapped corndogs. Peter almost felt bad for what he was going to do.

Almost.

"Hey, Hamburglar!" El Bandito turned around and dropped the corndogs (good thing they were covered) when he saw him hanging on the wall above him, "Didn't anyone ever tell you stealing wasn't nice?"

He continued to gape up at him. Peter debated on whether to web him up right there or try for more banter before he suddenly spoke up, "Who the heck are you?"

"Uh...I'm Spider-Man. Kinda new at this."

"I'll say. Spider-Man? You're not even being original!" Peter blinked. Was he seriously getting lectured on brand originality by a guy dressed up like a McDonalds mascot? "By the way, me and Spider-Woman kinda have a thing. I'm her arch-nemesis, so...yeah. If anyone's gonna stop me then it's gonna be her, you know? There are rules."

"You still broke the law."  _This_  guy was Gwen's arch-nemesis? Was he secretly some kind of criminal mastermind or something? "Look, how about you just gimme the corndogs back and we call it even? You don't seem like that bad a guy so I'll let it go if you promise to stop robbing people."

"Stop? Hah!" He grinned, "The Bodega Bandit can't be stopped, not now not ever! And there's nothing you can do to stop me, poser!"

Five minutes later he'd webbed him close to the dumpster (apparently it was where he lived) and got all the corndogs back. Peter swung to an alley close to the Dollar Dog and stuffed his costume back into his backpack. A couple of people managed to snap of a pic of his 'fight' with El Bandito. Hopefully Gwen didn't mind; it was an emergency.

"I got the corndogs back!" he said as soon as he was through the door. Mr. Albie and the boss gave him a questioning look, "Um, I mean...Spider-Man got the corndogs back and gave them to me. Saw my uniform." He laughed awkwardly.

"Spider-Man, hmph." Mr. Albie rolled his eyes and took the wrapped corndogs from his arms, "Another admirer of that Gwen Stacy girl. We don't need any more masked freaks running around." Peter cringed. There were definitely people who hated the Gifted back home - apparently that didn't change much here. He'd have thought people would be more grateful after the Avengers saved New York.

"Spider-Woman's cool. It's why everyone hangs around here," the boss said, eyes glued back to his phone, "We're having a Spider promotion thing here next week, btw. Invite your friends, Ken."

"It's, uh, it's Ben." Ben Reilly...well, he couldn't use his real name, right? Better safe than sorry, according to Betty. It wasn't like Aunt May was using her old last name anymore.

He got 'home' by the time the sun was going down. Betty was there already, "Yo, Pete," she looked up at him lazily from her place on the couch, Murderface once again wrapped around her head. At this point he was convinced he lived there, "Done with work?"

"Yup." He emptied out his bag of supplies on the dining room table before unceremoniously dumping his suit next to it, "Gwen here?"

"Nope. Why, need something?"

"No, just wanted to pay my part of the rent." He tossed her the folded bills. Most of it was spent on supplies, but it was a start, "I'll get the other half of my paycheck next week. I know it's not enough, but..."

"You know she didn't want you to think you had to pay her, right?"

"I-I know, it's just...you know, I'd be pretty screwed if it wasn't for her. You guys really pulled my butt out of the fire."

"Well, it's a very fine butt, so it was our pleasure." Peter fumbled and nearly dropped the wires he was holding. She was always like that, joking and flirting, but it still took some getting used to. It wasn't every day that pretty older girls flirted with him, "Anyway, what's all the junk for? Still trying to fix your fembot? What was her name, Carmen?"

"Karen." He put the clamps on the chip and attached it to another wire, "Can I borrow your laptop? Gwen took hers with her to the shop." He put his mask back on. He needed it if Karen was going to talk to him.

"Sure. Just don't open my forbidden folders. I don't wanna ruin our friendship so soon."

"Uh...right." Why did he not know if that was a joke or not? Shaking his head, he grabbed the (non-password protected) laptop and booted up some of the programs. Ned was always the better hacker between them both, but you couldn't get into the Midtown School of Science if you didn't know how to improvise. He'd already made some headway to cracking Mr. Stark's new code. He just had to put the finishing touches.

"So...what's this fembot like?" Betty asked.

"She's, uh, nice." He actually didn't know Karen that long before Mr. Stark put her under lock and key again, "She's an AI, so maybe she's, like, just programmed to be nice, but I like her. It's just, uh..."

"What?"

"Well, she was supposed to be activated after I completed the training wheels protocol, so she's...well, she's really quick to go to instant kill mode." He still didn't like killing people, at least not criminals on the street. He could accept it for evil aliens working for crazy guys who tried to destroy half the galaxy.

"So you got a killer AI? Great, when do we start worshiping our new robot overlords?"

"What? No, no, she's cool. She just likes to make jokes...alright, she made a joke about liking the sight of humans on their knees, but that was only after we watched some old movies." The humor protocol needed some work, according to Mr. Stark, "Anyway, maybe she can help us." He didn't know  _how_ , but it was better than being stuck here with no one else he knew.

"Whatever you say, Pete." She stretched her arms above her head and yawned, "Hey, you said there was a Betty back in your place, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"What was she like? Was she in a band like me?"

"Uh...not that I recall." Peter shook his head, "She was in Midtown's news team. Friends with Liz, too."

"Girl with the Supervill dad?"

"Y-Yeah..." He looked back down at the laptop, "Betty didn't like me for a while, considering I ditched Liz at prom and all, but she's nice, I guess." She still didn't like him that much. Not that he could blame her; ditching a girl at prom looked bad even before you take the whole 'dad's secretly an arms dealer' thing, "She, um, actually looks a lot like Gwen. Only difference is she has longer hair."

"Huh...that's weird."

"Alternate dimensions, I guess." Peter shrugged.

It was nighttime by the time he finally cut through all the defenses. Peter rubbed his eyes through his mask and smiled when Betty offered him a burger, "Thanks..." He pulled his mask up to his nose and took a bite, "I'm done. Once I press enter she's gonna be online again."

"Do it. But if we get enslaved I'm blaming you."

He rolled his eyes with a small smile and tapped enter. The lines of code ran down the black screen and he heard a soft whirring followed by an all too familiar voice, "Good evening, Peter. Congratulations on completing your rigorous training wheel protocol. Again."

"Karen!" He smiled. Hearing her voice was such a relief, "God, I can't believe it's you! I mean, I can believe it since you're part of the suit, but-

"It's nice to see you as well, Peter." He could imagine her smiling in return, "Judging by your voice and facial features not much time has passed since my deactivation. Did you hack through the training wheels program again? Mr. Stark won't be pleased."

"Yeah, but I had a good reason!" He took a deep breath, "Just, um...it's a long story. Big bad guy, worse than Hitler kind."

"An invocation of Godwins law, prevalent among teenagers and young adults. Are you making a hyperbole?"

"No, trust me, definitely not." Peter sighed, "Look, it all started at the school field trip..."

* * *

"So what's new with you, Spider-Gwen?"

Gwen looked up and caught Jess smirking down at her from the beam above. It was time for her, Jess and Cindy to have their weekly meet-up. She had to admit, she missed having the two of them around, especially after that entire clusterfuck with Muderdock, Castle, the Lizards and losing all her powers. Apparently they'd had an eventful few months as well, so it was nice to get together again.

Even if they were hanging around the top of a building under construction. Hey, at least this way she could be sure no one was going to be taking pics.

"Nothing really." Gwen shrugged, digging into her egg salad sandwich. Not the same as her dad used to make, but she did her best.

"Really?" Jess raised an eyebrow. She should've known the private investigator would pry, "Last we checked in you didn't have any powers and your secret identity was very firmly under close wraps. Now the first thing me and Cindy see is a giant billboard about the all new Spider-Gwen."

"You could use a name change, by the way," Cindy cut in 'helpfully'. The other Spider sat next to her with only the picnic basket separating them, "Spider- _Gwen_? Doesn't it sound a bit on the nose?"

"Hey, blame the guy who coined it. 'Sides, don't think you have much room to be talking,  _Silk_."

"Hey, at least mine makes sense. Smooth as Silk, get it? Spider-Gwen's just like if we used Super-Clark or Bat-Bruce. Just doesn't ring, ya know?"

"We all make mistakes, Cin. You remember the time you used that old costume?" Jessica said.

Cindy actually blushed at that. Now Gwen was intrigued, "Oh, so our own Silk went through the beta costume phase, huh?" Gwen teased, ignoring the glare the other Spider threw her way, "What was it? A skirt? A jumpsuit? Oooh, a cape! Bet it was a cape." She went through her own thing before Wasp gave her the new threads, but at least just it looked cheap instead of tacky.

"Nothing! It was just-"

"I have a pic," Jess said, cutting off Cindy's vehement denial.

Jess tossed her phone towards Gwen before Cindy could stop her and Gwen was met with a crystal clear picture of their very own Cindy Moon wearing what looked like web fetish gear, "Oh my God..." She knew it was bad - Cindy wouldn't have been in so much denial if it wasn't - but she didn't think it was 'I used to have a mohawk' levels of awful.

"Why do you even have that?!" Cindy screamed.

"Thought it'd be funny. And it was." Jess smirked and took her phone back, "Hey, you were asking for it. I mean, what the heck was with that? It's like when Luke went through his tiara and bracelets stage."

"Oh, like you can talk, Ms. Bodypaint!" Cindy shot back hotly.

"I made it work." Jess laughed, "Anyway, we're getting off topic. What happened with you, Spider-Gwen?"

"Please don't call me that." Gwen sighed, "Look, long story short my identity got outed, I'm stuck with the Venom suit, I spent a year in prison, Cap tried to recruit me to a suicide squad knock-off, which I refused, and now I'm just trying to not go insane"

"Wow...and I thought me fighting Hobgoblin would be the highlight of this visit." Jess whistled, "So, let's go through it in order. Venom suit? You mean like the thing that makes you wanna eat people's brains? Do you feel the urge to refer to yourself as 'we'? Be honest."

"Yes, we certainly do. We can't use proper pronouns now," Gwen replied, only half-sarcastically, "No, Jess, I'm fine. This Venom isn't like the one in your universe. It's more like...you ever have that moment when you wanna eat pizza when you're going through a diet or play video games instead of doing your work? It's kinda like that. Think of it like that little voice at the back of your head telling you to do the things you  _wanna_  do instead of what you  _should_  do."

"And that's not unhealthy?" Cindy asked.

"I've got a lid on it. Mostly. Still splurge a bit more on pizza than I should, but we all have our moments," Gwen said, "Bright side is I got a power boost. Can probably lift more than both of you."

"Strength isn't everything, Gwen," Jess said.

"Thanks, Mr. Miyagi." She laughed. Cap was real interested on testing her upper limits, but they weren't really talking, "Anyway, I thought that exposing my identity and taking responsibility would be best. Put it all out there. Yeah..." She sighed, "Didn't work so well. Year in prison, like I said. Not fun."

"Identity reveals, huh? Reminds me of that Civil War thing the heroes had before I got out of the bunker," Cindy said.

"Yeah, we don't like to talk about that," Jess coughed uncomfortably, "So, who's on this team Black Cap tried to recruit you in?"

"Last I checked? Shadowcat, Wolverine, that asshole Punisher, Black Cat and, um, evil Cindy. She was kinda the main reason I refused." She still had no fucking clue why Cap thought she'd be a good fit. Were they were gonna recruit Red Skull and M.O.D.A.A.K next?

"My evil twin? Seriously?" Cindy asked.

"Hey, I'm not part of the team, so don't look at me!" Gwen said, "Look, I don't like it either, but it's none of my business. If S.H.I.E.L.D wants to try putting Harley Quinn up there than that's their problem."

"Guess so. Just be sure to keep clear of em, Gwen. I dunno what they're like here, but them being this dimension's Thunderbolts really makes me wary," Jess said.

"Black Cat's not so bad. She's a thief, right?" Cindy asked.

"More like a popstar turned would-be assassin." Yeah...she definitely got the feeling Felicia didn't like her. Punching her in the face and leaving her for the cops tended to do that to people, "...Hey, how close are you guys to Spider-Man? The one from your place, I mean. I was hoping you could ask him something for me." It couldn't hurt to ask, right? So far the WW didn't have any luck with their thing.

"I know his secret identity and I guess we're friends, but I don't talk to him all that much," Jess said, "Of course, being called Spider-Woman tends have people assume. You wouldn't believe how many people think we're married."

"Ditto. We used to date because of that weird totem thing, but I've been keeping my distance. We still team up sometimes," Cindy said, "Why you asking? Please don't tell me you're looking for a date. Cause trust me, been there don't that and he's not that much a catch."

"What? No, God no." Gwen shook her head. That thing with Miles was enough for her, thanks, "It's just...alright, you're probably gonna call bullshit, but a Spider-Man from another dimension kinda just fell over here and now he's stuck. Sending him back home was a bust cause apparently some big purple dude called Thanos used some big gauntlet with a buncha gems to kill half the universe."

"Thanos? Guess I'm not surprised he's a monster in every other universe," Jess said, "Anyway, what'd you want us to ask?"

"Ask him if he, I dunno, knows something about being stuck in one dimension or that Thanos guy. I heard he was there when he did the 'kill half the universe' plan in your dimension." She was really hoping the big purple dude didn't exist here. They didn't have any Norse Gods or Hulks to help stop him, "I mean, Pete can't stay here forever. He has family and friends to get back to."

"So, what, he's just staying here?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah, over at my place. Not like we have any other choice." Gwen sighed. The apartment definitely wasn't built for three people, but it was better to be cramped than to deal with the alternative, "He can't stay in Loomworld and he doesn't have any ID here cause, you know..." Peter Parker was supposed to be dead. So far Cap hadn't caught wind yet, but she got the feeling it was only a matter of time.

"Hm..." Jess pursed her lips, "No offense, Gwen, but are you sure that's a good idea? We all know you have...issues with Peter Parker."

"I don't have-" She sighed again, "'m not saying this is ideal, but we can deal, alright? If it helps he doesn't have anything special with Gwen Stacy back in his place so it's only awkward on one side. Besides, I can't just kick him out, right? Us Spiders gotta stick together." Even if she still sometimes wanted to cry when she looked at him. At least she was getting better about it compared to before. A year stewing on her juices tended to do that.

"If you say so," Cindy mumbled, "Is it weird that this isn't the first time we've run into this? One time me and Jess went into that universe that had another Spider-Gwen and she had a Peter there with her too. Does your drop-in use guns and work with the Punisher? Or fight with devils?"

"What? No!" What the hell did they get up to when she wasn't looking? "Look, it's getting late so I'm gonna take off."

"Sure. Same time next week?" Jess asked.

"You know it. Make sure to tell me if he says anything."

Swinging back home was surprisingly peaceful. No crimes and no paparazzi, at least as far as she could see. She had to admit, she was in a good mood. Not only was the bad press finally dying down but she and the rest of the girls had a concert planned tomorrow; their first ever since she spent all those weeks in her Gwenom phase. It was nice to get back into the swing (heh) of things.

When she got back she found Peter typing something on Betty's laptop while Betty herself wore his mask and nodded along to something, "Hey, guys." She let the suit peel away to reveal her casual clothes, "What's happening?" She crossed her arms and smiled. It was nice to see them getting along.

"Did you know Peter has his own personal Fembot? It's what he was working on all week." Betty asked, her voice muffled by the mask.

"Um...what?"

"She's an AI," Peter said, a slight flush on his cheeks, "I told you before that Mr. Stark made my suit, right? Well, he put an AI and training wheels protocol in there." He gestured to the laptop, "Right now she can only talk to the mask, but I'm trying to make a program so she can use the laptop as a speaker. Figured it'd be easier if she ever wants to chat."

"Oh...cool." His world's Tony Stark definitely sounded a lot nice than this one's, "How's it going?"

"Just about to finish, actually." He typed a few more letters in and hit enter, "Here, how about now?"

"It seems to be functioning well, Peter." The smooth female voice nearly caused Gwen to jump, "The suit's internal power systems should be enough to keep all systems operational for the next few years, but this will help us save energy if needed."

"Uh..." Gwen blinked. There was an AI on her friend's laptop.

"Oh, a new arrival. Forgive me, my sensors are still rebooting. I am the Spider-Man suit's built-in AI, but Peter refers to me as Karen. You can follow his example or choose your own designation for me."

"Karen's cool, thanks. Name's Gwen." She almost stuck her hand out before quickly stopping herself, "Uh...sorry, this is my first time meeting an AI. Not even sure if we have AI in this dimension." Just another thing Cap would get on her ass about if -  _when_  - she found out. And here she thought she could actually take it easy. Stacy luck struck again...

"Truly? Peter explained the circumstances that led us both here, but I didn't think I would be the first of my kind present here. This is exciting."

"Right..." She looked to Betty, "Look, MJ and Glory are gonna be here any minute now. We gotta practice for the gig tomorrow."

"I'll clean up all this stuff."

Peter took the mask back from Betty and dragged all the stuff to the other room. He'd barely closed the door before Karen's faint voice came from the mask. He put it back on, "Sorry, what'd you say?"

"I was asking which of the two girls you liked."

Peter nearly dropped the laptop and wires, "U-Uh, what?"

"Do you wish me to repeat it?"

"No, no, I heard you just fine. It's just...a weird thing to ask, ya know?" At least she wasn't asking about Thanos and Titan. He still wasn't ready to think too much about that, even with the hope that this was all part of some cosmic plan.

"Truly? I'm sorry, I was deactivated before I saw the resolution of your attraction to Liz. How did that go, by the way?"

"It...didn't work out. Her dad was the Vulture guy and she had to move away..." It wasn't his fault...so why did he still feel so bad about it? He couldn't just let Mr. Toomes sell those weapons on the streets, right? No matter what reasons he had he was a criminal and he was stealing and endangering people for money. He had to be stopped, even if it meant Liz being hurt.

"Oh, my apologies. Am I correct in saying then that you aren't attracted to either Betty or Gwen?"

"Th-They're just friends!" He shook his head and tried to ignore the heat on his cheeks, "I mean, they really helped me out so I'm grateful for that. Nothing weird's going on, okay?"

"If you say so, Peter." Why did he get the feeling Karen didn't believe him? He shook his head. It didn't matter. At least she was back and he had a job, at least for however long he was staying here. Maybe things were looking up-

Peter jumped when the door suddenly opened and Mary Jane peeked her head in, "Hey, Peter, you joining us for practice?" She paused, "...Why are you wearing a mask?"

"Oh, j-just testing it out." Karen hummed against his ear, "Uh, I'll watch you guys in a bit! Just gonna take care of this stuff." He raised the assembled wires and components.

"Sure. Don't take too long, Tiger."

She winked and shut the door, leaving him with nothing but Karen's humming in his ears. She practically radiated smugness, "Uh...Karen?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"Not a word."

"Of course, Peter. Just friends, correct?"

"...Yeah, totally."

"Of course...Tiger."

Maybe re-activating her wasn't the best idea...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge chunk of Gwen's segment ended up being pretty plot dump-y. Apologies for that. Anyway, Karen's back in all her instant kill, matchmaker glory :D She'll definitely be good for a few laughs, especially once she starts interacting with the rest of the cast who don't know what an actual AI is like outside of Terminator and Matrix.
> 
> Next chapter is the Mary Janes concert which, by the laws of comic book narratives, is going to go belly up for the sake of adding drama :P I'll ask a question with regards to this below.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. What do you guys think of other pairings besides MCU Peter/Spider-Gwen? Some people seem to have been under the assumption that Peter's crush on Mary Jane could lead somewhere, for example. Gwen's lacking in alternatives (unless I make her bi like I did in Looking Glass)...maybe Harry? He should still be kicking around.
> 
> 2\. Whose POV do you guys want the concert to be? Both Peter and Gwen are present but I'd like to stick to the one viewpoint to help keep things simple. This also changes thoughts and combat scenes when we get to the inevitable villain attack given that Peter has Karen while Gwen has her controlled Venom suit.


	5. Face it Tiger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise fast update! Have to study for my upcoming comprehensive exams, so I figured now would be a good time to deal with this.
> 
> Anyway, I've been reading the 1993 Robin series with Tim Drake and it's been pretty helpful for writing the relationship between the leads. Early issues Tim and Stepahanie's relationship is helpful here since, despite Tim's moments of dourness, he reminds me well enough of a heroic teenager ala MCU. Post War Games Tim is more dour and bitter, so that's useful for Looking Glass and with Noir.
> 
> Stephanie remains stable enough regardless so works either way for Gwen. Two for one :D
> 
> Also, I've been getting suggestions to turn this into a harem thing...uh, no. Sorry, I can barely write romance, you think I can do harem and you're just kidding yourselves. That and I personally dislike writing them since most harems are poor and lack in good characterization. So I'll be avoiding that pratfall, thanks.
> 
> I also have to point this out: people keep suggesting power ups for MCU, and I don't see the point. This is not a super big fight fic and he's more than strong enough already, so there's really no point to suggesting he get a Venom suit or suggesting ways he can become even more overpowered in the Earth-65 setting. Remember, in this dimension powers are rare, so there's really no need to suggest merging Venom with nanotech.
> 
> Side Note - So far this is far more popular than Looking Glass at its inception :) On one hand I'm kinda bummed, on the other hand I'm glad my writing experiment for writing Ideal Hero characterization is doing so well. No surprise, though: the MCU fanbase is a powerhouse.

Peter'd never been to a concert before, let alone backstage. When he was younger he was more into baseball games and movies and after Uncle Ben and the whole Spider-Man thing he never found the time. There was marching band, of course, but that was hardly 'brag to my outside school friends (of which he had none)' material. That and he quit that too, and how sad was that? Who quit marching band?

Still, he definitely felt excited seeing the Mary Janes dress up...er, not like  _that_ , "This is your band outfit?" he asked. The black and green striped shirts and leggings weren't outstanding enough on their own, but the green paint around their eyes definitely drew attention.

"Yup." Betty strummed her guitar and grinned. The green around her eyes made her look almost manic. Almost, "It was Gwen's idea. Said that people weren't gonna be looking at our shirts anyway since we didn't have our tits out or wear Lady Gaga knockoffs like Felicia did. Looks cool, right?"

"Yeah...cool."

He felt...odd here. The band was given a small room to prepare (after ducking through the people who snuck backstage for an autograph with 'Spider-Gwen') and right now he just watched them prepare. Tuning instruments, finishing up their costumes, reciting songs to themselves...it reminded him of preparation for the decathlon. They were all in their own little world, only focused on making sure they were at their absolute best when it happened.

They gave him front row seats, but he still felt odd being out there. It wasn't the crowd, he was used to being on both ends of that now, but the excitement in the air that was so thick he could web it down. They weren't here for the songs or the band, they were here for Gwen. He could see in their faces, their shirts, the way the ones asking for autographs only looked at Gwen and acted like the other three didn't exist.

And it was bothering MJ, though she tried her best to hide it.

A knock on the door jolted him out of his thoughts, "Ten minutes to showtime everyone." Randy Robertson said. He didn't know much about the guy. All the others told him was that he was their manager and scored their gigs for them, though apparently that wasn't hard nowadays after Gwen's identity reveal. Now it was more deciding which gig came with the most money and adoring crowds.

"I'm gonna go. Break a leg you guys," Peter said, grabbing his backpack as he did. He'd brought his costume along, more out of habit than anything else. Gwen still wanted to wait a few more days before Spider-Man's official debut.

"Make sure to cheer us on, Tiger." Mary Jane winked and he blushed. He had no idea why she kept calling him that - especially since Spider seemed the more obvious choice - but he wasn't complaining. It was way better than Penis Parker...and no, he wasn't going to imagine Mary Jane calling him that in any kind of situation. No sir.

The crowd was in full cheer by the time he made it to his seat. There was an energy in the air, he could feel it in his bones. He heard them whispering to one another, saw the banners and Spider memorabilia in their hands. Did even a single one of them come for the music, he wondered, or were they all just here for Gwen? He'd definitely seen science conventions getting almost quadruple their population when it was confirmed Mr. Stark or Vision would make a guest appearance.

A few minutes passed before the curtain finally opened, "Welcome, everyone!" Mary Jane yelled, a bright grin on her face. The crowd cheered, "Hello, hello! How are we doing today? My name's MJ, that's my girl Glory on the keyboard, Betty on the bass and, I'm sure you all know her, Gwen Stacy on the drums!" The crowd cheered louder. Gwen's cheeks actually flushed red at that. It was surprisingly cute, "We're the Mary Janes! 1, 2, 3, 4!"

The loud music blared all around him. Peter found himself cheering along with the crowd and raising his arms to the beat. He was never one for rock music - May always preferred a soft jazz and he followed along - but there was definitely something exciting about it all. The lights, the loudness, the way the instruments all blended into one another to make an amazing beat.

_"There's no use crying over pinpricks!_

_"Don't fight the name if the name fits! You're doing good, think that you could do better?!"_

_"Wanna crack your skull, get to the heart of the matter!"_

_"You gotta face it tiger, face it tiger! It's all you've got!"_

_"You gotta face it tiger, face it tiger! This is your last shot!"_

_"You gotta face it tiger, face it tiger! You hit the jackpot!"_

There was a pause and both their eyes met. Mary Jane's grin widened and she threw him another wink before continuing to the second verse (same as the first). Tiger...was that why she called him that? He shook his head. He was thinking too much about it. Besides, it wasn't like anything could happen, right? They weren't even on the same dimensions or anything.

...Then again, Gwen did say the portal watches could make portals any _where_  and any  _time_.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by the sudden cheers of the crowd. He expected at least a few of them to cheer for the music, but it was anything but, "Spider-Gwen! Spider-Gwen! Spider-Gwen!" Everyone around him shouted, each of them trying to yell over one another. Even the band was stunned silent at the reception. Gwen's eyes were as wide as plates and Mary Jane had a flash of irritation on her face before it was quickly replaced by a forced cheer.

Peter did the only thing he could think of.

"Yeah, Mary Jane!" Somehow she heard him. Their eyes met again and he waved, "Mary Jane, whoo!"

...Okay, so his cheering skills could use some work, but it was worth it to see the genuine smile on her face. Mary Jane shook her head and started up the next song, which was apparently titled after Betty's cat.

They were barely into the second verse before he felt it, "Spider-sense..." Danger, but where? His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to pinpoint the source. It wasn't 'setting off a suicide bomb in the middle of the crowd' levels of danger, but it would definitely disrupt the concert if something happened, he could feel it. He had to do something before whoever or whatever it was did...whatever they were doing.

Peter pushed his way through the crowd, letting his spider-sense guide him. It was hard without his goggles or the mask to dampen it, and the music wasn't doing it any favors. It felt like someone was using his head as a drum.

He was getting close. Peter reached his right hand out and grabbed the guy in the (really obvious, now that he thought about it) brown trenchcoat. As soon as his hand made contact with his arm the guy's head snapped to his and Peter saw his face under the fedora - tan, wrinkled skin, brown eyes and dark hair styled in a bowlcut. The man's expression went from shock to anger and Peter's spider-sense went into overdrive.

The sudden explosion almost knocked him off his feet. No shrapnel or heat, so not a grenade, but he definitely smelled something like rotten eggs in the air. Peter stepped back and coughed, his vision shaky. Just barely he heard people around him screaming and he resisted the urge to puke out his breakfast. His spider-sense was even worse now, screaming at him to jump, duck, or roll out of the way.

He shook his head and looked around him. His vision was shaky, colors blurring together in a weird mesh. Through it all he somehow saw Gwen shift into her costume onstage before jumping towards the crowd, "Everyone, run for the exits!" she screamed. Peter stumbled backstage towards the closest bathroom and pulled his suit out in a rush.

He should've figured something would happen. Something  _always_  happened.

Karen's voice immediately greeted him, "Good morning, Peter. I detect the presence of foreign hallucinogens in your system. Would you like to initiate a purge?"

"Yeah, yeah, make it quick!"

Cold air rushed up his nostrils and his vision suddenly cleared. Coughing, Peter dropped his backpack on the stall and stumbled out of the room, his steps growing more and more stable as the seconds passed, "Hallucinogens purged. Make sure to get plenty of bed rest and fluids to ensure no lingering effects." Footsteps from the left, "I detect three hostiles chasing after three fleeing civilians. Do you wish to engage enhanced combat mode?"

"Yeah, but no instant kill!"

The civilians in question ended up being the band, who were in turn being chased by...

Were those guys wearing fishbowls and capes?

Peter shook his head and rushed towards them. No time to worry about that, "Splitter web!" He aimed at two of the closest ones and snagged them both in the chest. They screamed in surprise before Peter tugged and stuck them to the roof.

The last one grabbed Mary Jane, "Regular web!" Mary Jane turned around and, just before the web made impact, smacked the guy on the fishbowl hard enough to break it.

Pulling him off felt more like it was for his sake then hers. Peter webbed him to the ground and landed on his feet, posture bent and ready, "A-Are you guys okay?" He turned to look at them.

"Broke my guitar, but yeah. You?" Mary Jane asked back casually. So much for a daring rescue.

_Say something, say something cool!_

"...Yeah."

_...Nailed it._

"Peter, I detect an increased heart rate. I thought you said you said you were just friends?" There was definitely something teasing in Karen's voice.

"She's-"

"Hey, don't just stand around! Gwen's fighting that fishbowl guy outside!" Glory called out, "We'll look around and make sure everyone gets out, so go be a hero!"

"Break a leg, Pete!" Betty said.

"Make sure Gwen's alright, Tiger!" Mary Jane added.

They ran around the corner out of sight. Taking a deep breath, Peter ignored Karen's humming and swung through the curtains of the stage. The sight that greeted him was bizarre. Gwen was fighting a dozen fishbowl dudes in the center of the floor while people around her either ran in a panic or, and he couldn't believe this,  _took videos_  without a single crap given about the danger.

In front of him on the stage, with his back turned towards him, was the biggest fishbowl dude to beat all fishbowl dudes. His cape was long and purple and his green suit looked like something a disco reject would wear, "Yes, take your videos and pictures! Watch your hero fall!" He boomed. His voice sounded like someone shouting through a boombox, "Know that when Spider-Woman faces her final defeat, it is by the hands of the great Mysterio!"

"Tazer web!"

Peter shot the electrified webbing straight at the guys back...

...Only for it to immediately pass through and fall at the edge of the stage with a dull splat.

"Uh..."

"That is a hologram, Peter," Karen 'helpfully' supplied.

"And who is this?! One of your many admirers, perhaps?!" Fishbowl dude turned towards him and crossed his arms. If he was trying to be menacing then he was failing bad at it, "Did you hope to snatch victory from the jaws of your inevitable defeat?! Perhaps gain your moment in the spotlight?!"

"Inevitable defeat? Moment in the spotlight?" Gwen scoffed and leapfrogged over the closest charging fishbowl guy, "Dude, you're the one who's crashing our concert! Badly, might I add! At least Rhino went himself instead of sending his good squad after me!"

"Pah, your false bravado does you no credit, Gwendolyne Stacy!"

"And your Christian Bale impression makes sound like a moron, greenbowl! Not that that's hard; looked in the mirror lately?" She grabbed one of the fishbowl guys and tossed him to two of his friends, "How'd you hire these guys, anyway? Minimum wage?"

"What? No! Mysterio always pays premium! I'm a villain, not a monster!"

"Yeah, well, hope that comes with dental!" She punched another one straight on in the face. The sound of shattering glass made Peter cringe; that must've hurt, "You know we gotta refund people now, right? Couldn't you wait your turn like a normal Supervillain?"

He had to jump in. Peter jumped through the air and locked on to six people charging at Gwen all at once, "Rapid fire web!" He shot a barrage of web balls down, stunning and sticking the half a dozen fishbowl guys right in their tracks.

Gwen looked up and gave him a thumbs up, "Thanks!" She webbed them down fully and looked at the last remaining fishbowl guy, "Alright, you can put your hands up and surrender or I could knock your lights out and hang you upside down. Which way do you wanna do this?"

He put his hands up and let Gwen web his legs to the ground. Smart.

Gwen waited for Peter to stand at her side, "Alright, Christian Bowl, it's just the three of us now." She spread her arms wide and looked up at him on the stage, voice taunting, "Now we gonna do this the easy way or do I gotta get Betty out here to kick your ass again?"

"Hah, the one in the glasses d-doesn't scare me!" Huh...that stutter said otherwise. What the heck did Betty do? "You may have beaten my first wave, you and your lackey-"

"I'm not her lackey!" Peter said.

"-but that was just the beginning!" Fishbowl dude said, ignoring his protests. His spider-sense tingled just before more green gas seeped through the floor, "I will show you your worse fears, Spider-Woman! Your nightmares come true!" He cackled. Peter lowered himself into a crouch and awaited...

Nothing. The gas was dissipating and nothing was happening.

"Peter, I activated the internal gas mask. This gas is no danger to us," Karen said.

"Wait, wh-what about Gwen?"

Gwen stood with her arms crossed and her right foot tapping impatiently, "...Well, I'm waiting." He could practically see her smirk under the mask. Huh...well, she looked just fine to him.

"Wh-What?! Impossible! My gas-"

"I had a few upgrades." She flexed her left arm and the suit moved, "So...any other tricks up your sleeve or can we skip to the part where I web you up to the police and you promise eternal vengeance? Cause I kinda need to pencil you in after White Rabbit and Bodega Bandit."

"What?! I at least deserve to at the top of that list!" ...Was this how Supervillains and Superheroes usually fought in this world? Dealing with Mr. Toomes would've been way easier if they did it like this, "Rrrgh, well, I shall make a tactical retreat for now! Keep wary, Spider-Woman, for I will always be watching! When you sleep, when you wake, when you go the ba...uh, I will always be watching! So do not-"

A red, white and blue disc passed overhead and flew towards the stage. He heard the sound of a dull impact when it passed through the right of the parted curtains followed by something - some _one -_ falling from the low hanging walkway and the disc flying back where it came from.

It was the guy with the trenchcoat.

"Uh..." Peter eyed the hologram frozen mid-maniacal arm raise on the stage, "I...guess that was him." He rubbed his head. That was kinda lame, though maybe the Hamburglar and Ringer should've clued him in that he wasn't exactly facing the Scorpion here.

"...Looks like my ex-babysitter's here," Gwen muttered.

"What?"

She nudged her head back and he watched, eyes wide, at the woman with an all-too familiar costume striding towards them, her left hand holding onto a similarly colored shield.  _Captain America_ , the rational part of his mind reminded him. Or at least  _this_  world's Captain America, who in any other world would've been the Falcon...and a guy. He was pretty sure about both of those.

"Cap, how you doin'?" Gwen spread her arms wide like she was going for a hug. The people who stayed started taking more pictures, "Back from fighting H.Y.D.R.A and ensuring freedom for all of mankind already?"

"Gwen." She nodded quickly and turned her attention to him. Peter suddenly felt the urge to both shake her hand and swing away screaming at the piercing stare, "I was going to give you a few more days break, but then this," She nodded towards him, "Came to my attention."

"What? Him? No, he's just a friend! I'd never cheat on you, Cap! What we have is special!"

The older (at least he assumed) woman's lip quirked up in a slight smile, "Heh. Funny, but I'm being serious. I thought you said you were going to keep a low profile?"

"What? I was! And Pe- Spider-Man was too! It's not my fault the concert got crashed! This was totally self-defense!" Gwen turned to him. He looked away, "...Spider-Man, you were keeping a low profile too,  _right?_ " Her eyes narrowed. Oh crap, he really wanted to swing away right now, "I mean, I  _kinda_  made it clear that we needed to keep things on the down low for a bit. You remember that?"

"Well...yeah, but there were some extenuating circumstances-" He shrunk back at her glare, "I-I didn't attract attention!"

"Not according to this." Captain Falcon showed them a phone. The headline and photo - him waving at the crowd below - immediately made him cringe, "'Spider-Man foils Bodega Bandit's crime spree'? 'Who is this new mystery vigilante and what connection does he have to the past unveiled Gwendolyne Stacy'? Do I need to go on?" She put the phone away, "Gwen, this is the opposite of low profile. I wasn't even aware there was a Spider-Man here."

"Yeah, well, a couple of weeks ago neither was I!" Gwen said defensively, "Look, he just kinda fell on my lap and I've been doing the best I can! Alternate universe, you're the expert on that, not me!"

"Hmm..." Cap pursed her lips, "Fine, I suppose I'll need to have a talk with him about how he needs to act if he plans to stay here-"

"What? No, no, no! He's not staying here, alright? This is basically spring break for him! So no Suicide Squad recruitment! You already tried it with me!" Gwen crossed her arms in an X sign, "Look, Spider-Man, I gotta go talk with Cap, alright? Just...take off for a bit, okay? I'll catch up."

"Uh...sure, Gwen. Whatever you say..." He hesitated for a few seconds until a nudge on his shoulder made him walk. Peter made his way backstage, his steps slow and sluggish. It felt like that day at the airport again, being shooed away by the 'grown-ups' even after all he did to help. It was hard not to feel kinda resentful being told to go away when he was the topic of conversation.

He caught MJ sitting on one of the crates, her guitar in her hands and her legs swinging idly. She looked up when he got close enough and gave him a lopsided smile, "Hey, Tiger. Glory and Betty are waiting for the police outside. Mission accomplished?"

"Yeah, I guess..." He put up his mask up to his nose and sat next to her...at a respectable distance, "I mean, he wasn't really big bad guy or anything. I think he was just trying to get attention."

"Coasting on Spider-Gwen's fame, huh? I know that feeling..." There was something bitter in her voice.

"...Are you okay? You've been kinda down since this morning."

"Noticed that, huh?" She laughed softly, "Yeah, it's just...I know I'm going to sound like the most self-centered bitch ever, but I guess I'm bummed that we're just Gwen's hangers-ons now."

"You're not-"

"Oh please, you heard everyone out there. 'Spider-Gwen, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Gwen!'" She threw up her arms, "We might as well have been invisible. I knew this was gonna happen, but I guess I just thought that things might be different. Stupid of me, huh?"

"...Sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's Jameson and the Kingpin and everyone else in this city who wanted to hold Gwen 'responsible' because they don't wanna look in the mirror." She sighed, "God, I feel like such an ass. Gwen went through absolute hell these past few months and here I am complaining because I didn't get as much attention I want. Glory was right: I really do want to make everything the MJ show all the time."

"I...I don't think so." Peter mumbled, "I mean, I heard you sing. Y-You're really talented, and the lyrics you made...I get why you'd be kinda bummed why people didn't really listen."

"Heh, thanks..." She smiled warmly, "Well, I know I have one fan, at least. Thanks, Tiger."

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. It was quick, barely a second, really, but he blushed all the same, "Peter, your body temperature has increased, as did your hormone levels." Peter shut his eyes and desperately wished Karen would  _shut up_. Sadly, the genie wasn't feeling very generous today, "Given the tone set I believe it would be appropriate to either hold her hand or kiss her cheek in turn. If you're feeling bold you can kiss her on the lips-"

"I'm not doing that!" He said before he could stop himself.

MJ recoiled at the sudden scream, "Wait, what are you not doing?"

"N-Nothing, just, um, Karen was doing some status checks and, uh-"

"Peter, I believe if you asked her out on a date she has a 77% chance of saying yes, round up to 80% if you do what Mr. Stark labeled as the smolder-"

"Okay, would you just keep quiet?!" MJ's face shifted to an expression of hurt, "Wha- no, no, no! I wasn't talking to you! It was Karen! She said she was, uh-"

"Hurry, Peter, the percentage is steadily lowering."

"She said she...wanted to explore New York!"

...Someone kill him...except Thanos. Screw that guy.

"...What?" MJ's eyes narrowed.

"Uh...it's a new dimension and she figured that it'd be a good idea to, you know, look at just how some things are different and how some things aren't. I mean the Avengers Tower doesn't exist, so what else could have changed?" It was a lie, but he honestly was curious on that part, "Karen said that...uh, that it'd be a good idea to have someone who lived here show...us around...cause that'd be like a guided tour." Peter cringed. Saying  _nothing_  would've been better.

"And...why were you telling her to shut up? That doesn't sound so bad."

"Well, I mean, she wanted me to ask you to do it since, uh, you live here, but I didn't want to bother you since you seem like you're busy doing your band...thing." She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She didn't believe him, that much was obvious, "I mean I guess I could ask Betty since she's kinda free, but I mean, I guess I wouldn't be against it if you wanted to-"

"Do you wanna ask me out on a date?"

That was...blunt. MJ waited, arms still crossed and face blank, as Peter choked and struggled to form words. It was just like with Liz. Terrible at keeping secrets, she'd said. Considering May and Ned she might've had a point.

"I'll take that as a yes." She laughed under her breath, "Man, your face is all red. I mean, you're a Superhero! You'd think asking a girl out would be easy compared to fighting Supervillains!"

"Y-Yeah, you'd think." Peter laughed nervously.

"Peter, your heart is beating rapidly. Please calm down before sweat pools and the smell ruins the atmosphere," Karen chirped.

"Well, why not?" MJ shrugged, the same warm smile returning, "You're not gonna be here for long and I guess it'd be nice to get taken out again. Last time I had a date Gwen was still on time for practice...sorry, inside joke."

"O-Oh, cool!" Peter gulped audibly, "So, um, when do I...you know?"

"I'll check my schedule, but I think I'll be free in a couple of days," She tapped her guitar, "I'm gonna meet the other two outside. You go wait for Gwen; something tells me she's gonna want someone to talk to." She clapped him on the shoulder and left, humming 'Face it Tiger' to herself. Peter watched her leave with a dopey smile on his face. He probably would've stared longer if Karen didn't suddenly speak up.

"That went well."

"Yeah..." Peter lowered his mask again, "You know, could you not be so pushy next time?"

"Research has found that a push is often needed when it comes to wallflower types."

"I'm not a-"

"Talking to yourself again, Spidey?" He turned to the left and found Gwen standing there in full costume sans mask. He guessed there wasn't really a point considering everyone already knew, "You know that Noir does that too sometimes? Should we start getting you checked?"

"No, no, just...talking with Karen." Should he tell her about the date with MJ? Nah, she didn't need to know, "So...how'd your thing with Captain America go?"

"Pretty well. She gave me the lecture about how the public's still not ready and I should be careful because people are always looking for an excuse." She sat next to him, close enough that their legs were touching. She didn't seem to notice or care, "...She told me to move into a facility upstate, 'at least till things calm down'." She raised both hands and made air-quotes, "I'm not buying it though. I go there and I'll be stuck till I'm 40."

"You're not worried? About your safety, I mean?"

"Why? People already know who I am and I already pissed off the Kingpin." She smirked wryly, "'Sides, I'm more worried for the others. Even if I do go to some upstate facility people already know who my friends and family are. I can't just ask them to give everything up - school, family, their entire lives - just to move into some human bank vault with me. That's why I'm taking precautions and giving them bits of the Venom and everything."

"Oh..." If he'd accepted Mr. Stark's offer was that what it would've been like for him? Just wondering if May and Ned or anyone else he cared about was safe from being hurt to get to him? "...I mean, if you need help with anything, tell me. I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything, Pete. Us Spiders gotta stick together." She squeezed his right shoulder gently, "...Listen, I'm gonna go visit someone, okay? You go with Betty and the others back home.

"I could come with-"

"No, I...wanna do this alone." She took a deep breath, "Just please go back home...and stay away from any paparazzi. I think we've already established a need for the low profile and I don't need to repeat myself, right?" Her smile was chilling. Peter could only nod dumbly, "Good! See you later."

"Yeah...see ya."

He watched her leave. The quiet lasted all of five seconds before Karen spoke up again, "I detect chemistry between you both. Please don't tell me you plan to cheat already, Peter. I don't want to see you go down Mr. Stark's path."

"...God damn it, Karen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda shorter than usual, but hey that's good, right? Helps to keep the slice of life tone :) Anyway, this update came pretty fast, but that makes sense since, uh, well I have no clue what to do after this. Okay, not exactly true - I have three chapter ideas and I have no inkling on which one I wanna do for the next chapter, especially since which segments come first does affect the later ones. I'll deal with it in the questions below:
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. So I have three segments possible:
> 
> \- We tackle the MJ date and possibly show off Gwen attending college classes. This leads to more ship tease with MJ and more exposition on how Gwen's civilian life is like now that she's a recently exonerated Superhero who people either admire, fear or both. Might also be able to include a certain professor who's very interested in cloning with a preference for younger girls...
> 
> \- We deal with Gwen visiting her comatose dad and Peter finding out about that, along with possibly making the Parkers aware of Peter's presence. This is more a plot chapter, though it does have some ship tease between MCU and Gwen since Peter's an absolute cinnamon roll who tries to help her deal with her hang-ups. Also, possibly talking about Venom, finally.
> 
> \- A lighter chapter of Gwen having a girls day out with Mayday, Cindy and Jessica while Peter has a guy's day out with Ham, Noir and either UK or India. This one is more lighthearted and slapstick-y in nature, though it also advances the 'make contact with Earth-19999' plot given the presence of the Web Warriors. Includes discussions on dating advice for the guys and Mayday cringing at everyone's weird relationship with her dad for the girls.
> 
> So yeah, pick your poison :)
> 
> 2\. I'm curious, did you guys click this fic because of MCU Peter, Spider-Gwen or both? In Looking Glass I had many readers admit they preferred just the one lead - Noir, mostly - and treat the other protagonist as a side-character. I'm curious on whether that's the case here as well.
> 
> ...Or it could be neither and you guys just wanna make out with the author ;p Wouldn't be the first time :]


	6. Spiders' Day Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first; I don't really feel confident with this chapter. I had the idea in my head but then it just...well, didn't materialize properly. I dunno. Next chapter will be better, I promise.
> 
> Anyway, Spider-Gwen's ended. Gwen's identity is outed and she's free to find her place in the world. Her friends suggest they go on a country tour and have Gwen helping city to city 'like a friendly ghost', which will likely tie in to the namechange. Hopefully Spider-Geddon doesn't fuck up her status quo too much. Really don't want to deal with more angst.
> 
> Also, MJ and Glory are in a relationship according to the author, so...yeah, I have an out if I want it. Speaking of the canon, I have a question down below concerning Gwen's status quo. Please answer it if you can :)
> 
> The Spidey game's coming out on September, so another thing to look forward to :D They're also giving some hints to Spiderizing Mary Jane, so here's hoping we get a playable Scarlet-MJ!

It was odd, Gwen mused, how quickly they'd settled into a routine. Back when she'd moved in with Betty it took weeks for them to stop stepping on each other's feet, sometimes literally; especially considering her 'part time job'. Dealing with the band, being Spider-Woman, having to time her entrances just right to avoid Betty waking up to her roommate sneaking in through the window...all of it made her wish that maybe she should've just stayed in Queens with her dad. At least he was usually out on work.

With Peter it was different. The first couple of days were rough, true, but they'd settled into something resembling normalcy surprisingly quickly. Betty liked the guy and apparently he was used to sleeping on couches because of sleepovers with that 'Ned' guy. Heck, the place had gotten cleaner ever since he showed up, which was actually kind of weird. Mostly she didn't think about it, especially after another week passed from that disastrous concert.

...Although the AI did creep her the heck out. Any second now she expected it to start demanding they compute pi all day.

Gwen's phone buzzed next to her ear. Groaning, she tried to snuggle deeper into her pillow before the buzzing became too much, "Mmmgh..." She groped blindly and found her phone after a few seconds of searching, "Ughhh, who's this?" She asked slowly. Maybe it was a bad idea to keep clubbing till about 3 am, but they always said there was no rest for the wicked.

"Gwen?" Jess' voice came from the other end. Gwen groaned again and looked up at the bottom of the upper bunk bed, "We're here. Where you at?"

"What?" She looked at the clock and grimaced at the blinking red 11:00 am that greeted her. They were supposed to meet at Starkbucks 30 minutes ago, "Shit, sorry, late night." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and brought a hand through her face, "Look, I'll be there, alright? Just had a late night..." Stupid Sinister Six interrupting the fun. Why were they even called that? There was only five of them!

"What's going on? Something happen?" Cindy's voice came from the background.

"Nothing, Gwen's just hungover," Jess replied.

"I am not!" Gwen sighed and stood. Betty was still fast asleep, Murderface draped across her stomach like the world's furriest blanket, "Just hold up a bit. I'll be there soon."

She cut the call and stepped out into the living room. Peter was asleep on the couch. Or at least she assumed he was; it was kind of hard to tell considering the mask was still on his face. Thankfully the paparazzi stopped bothering her for now cause she really didn't want rumors of a Spider love nest running around. Bad enough that she'd gone to prison.

"Shouldn't sleep with a mask on." She took the mask off his face and dumped it on the table. For all she knew that AI chick was trying to brainwash him in his sleep and the last thing she needed was another one of those.

"May, I'm fine, don't want meatloaf..." Gwen raised an eyebrow. The guy apparently had boring dreams. Shaking her head, she trudged to the table and got some cereal and milk. A quick snack to wash away the headache and then she could swing over. Wasn't like she had anything to hide anymore. She was pretty sure 'Spider-Gwen' was still a trending thing.

She was halfway through her bowl when Peter finally woke up, "Whooza?" He sat up looked around in a rush before he caught sight of her, "Gwen...?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out." She shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm here..." He looked down at the mask for a second, "...Just had a dream."

"Meatloaf?" she asked, a slight smile on her face.

"Yeah, I...thought I was back home." She was tempted to say something before he suddenly shook his head, "Ah, it's nothing, just homesick." He stood up and grabbed the mask. He was way too attached to the possibly homicidal artificial lifeform, "Hey, you going somewhere?"

"Meeting up with a couple of friends in the Starkbucks around the corner. Two Spiders from another dimension." Was it weird that that sentence was one of the least weirdest things she'd ever said? "I asked em for help on your deal. They have a Peter Parker who became Spider-Man back in their place too. Figured he might have some advice on this since he's apparently been through a lot of shit."

"Another Peter Parker? You mean like Noir and Ham?"

"God no, I think those two are unique." She rolled her eyes playfully, "He's kinda like you, I guess. More into the red and blue tighty whities."

She also didn't get along with him that much. She chalked that up to faults on both sides. He saw her as the girlfriend he couldn't save and after that clone bullshit those wounds were re-opened. She was the same at first, but dealing with Noir and Ham and Pavitr made it easier to move on. It helped that Spider-Peters were the default and Spider-Gwens were a lot rarer. She still hadn't seen another one of her that wasn't dead, even if some of them apparently went out like champs.

"Oh...cool." Peter rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Something up?"

"No, no, it's just...I'm still getting used to the idea that there's a lot of 'me' out there, you know? I mean all this multiverse stuff is just kinda over my head. Still can't believe Captain America here's a female Falcon and Mr. Stark's...well, I don't wanna say an asshole, but-"

"Eh, he's an asshole. According to Jess all that changes is the degree." From what she heard from Jess apparently her version dumped his friends into some kind of Superman Phantom Zone because they wouldn't sign a piece of paper. Cindy was lucky enough to miss it, all snug as a bug in that bunker of hers, "But come on, really? That can't just be what's bugging you. There's something else."

"That's...yeah." He looked down, lips pursed. She refrained from telling him it made him look constipated, "I just...I'm going through the news in my head. From when those Web Warriors guys tell me about my place, I mean. That Thanos guy said half of all life would just disappear and a part of me wants to know exactly what'd happen and the other half just wants to..."

"Put off the possible bad news?" Peter nodded, lips still pursed, "Look, I get that, but sometimes we gotta just face stuff head on, you know? I mean you don't wanna stay here forever, right? Cause Betty's angling to make this permanent and I think you should run before she starts getting the collar."

"A c-collar? You're kidding...right? Betty with a collar..." Why was he blushing?

"What, how do you think we got Murderface? He is not a cat you just buy, my fellow Spider." She finished off her cereal, "Anyway, I'm gonna take off. What about you? Any plans for today?"

"N-No, just gonna stay in. Wait for some news, I guess." His eyes darted to his mask. Gwen frowned. He didn't take being 'grounded' very well, but it was really needed. She was still on thin ice. Defending herself and other people was all well and good, but patrols and 'instigating conflicts' were off the table. The last thing the city wanted or needed was another Spider right after her.

"Betty should be free. You two can hang out." She stood up and placed the bowl on the sink. She'd wash it later, "See ya. Don't do anything I wouldn't do...or would do."

"Why does everyone tell me that?"

She grabbed a Spider-Woman sweatshirt, a pair of black shorts and sneakers and jumped out the window. It still felt somewhat wrong, swinging around without a mask on her head, but she'd gotten used to it. It wasn't like she needed it anymore, right?

The Starkbucks was close. Gwen swung low and landed in front of Jess and Cindy's table, the surface already filled with food and drinks. Jess raised an eyebrow quizzically at her entrance while Cindy practically jumped up in her seat, her eyes wide, "...Well, that's one way to make an entrance." Jess crossed her arms and nudged her head to the patrons shamelessly taking photos on their phones, "People are staring."

"So? Let em." Gwen scoffed and took one of the empty seats, "They're gonna look anyway. Nothing against the law about doing a 'run', right?"

"...Is this a bad time to confess I have anxiety issues? My therapist said so," Cindy piped up, sinking slightly into the folds of her custom jacket. Gwen wasn't ashamed to admit she was jealous the other Spider could make designer clothes on demand, "I know you said your secret identity was shot, but most people would try and keep a low profile. At least that's what I'd do."

"Why bother? Everyone knows who I am," Gwen replied, her voice a tad more bitter than she'd like. Yeah, everyone knew who Spider-Gwen was. No running or hiding, "'Sides, it's not problem for either of you two. Last I checked Jess is a guy here and your evil twinsie's a terrorist leader who doesn't have a fingerprint on any known database. I'm pretty sure we're safe."

"Yeah, well, being watched really kills my appetite." Cindy frowned.

"Hah, I need to get you and MJ talking. She'd bite your head off for that comment." Gwen grinned.

"Speaking of alternates," Jessica cut in, "We asked our Spider-Man about your...guest."

"Any luck?"

"Not particularly." She grabbed a croissant and bit into it, "He's been through other dimensions even before that Inheritor bullshit, but it was always a quick trip. Just a Sunday afternoon, he said. He doesn't remember much about being brought back after Thanos killed half of all life either, so that's a dead end. He would've come here himself but he's being accused of plagiarizing Doc Ock's works after the guy took over his body."

"Wait, what?"

"We call it the Superior Spider-Man phase. Don't worry about it." Jess waved a hand through the air, "Point is it's a dead end. We tried asking Dr. Strange too. No luck there either. All he told us is that the Infinity Stones are localized to the dimensions, which probably explains why the new guy's safe here."

"Yeah, we figured that already." Gwen sighed, "Damn it, I was really hoping for something here."

"So was I." Gwen jumped up in her seat and turned to face Mayday's smiling face. The other Spider wasn't wearing her costume, making do instead with button down shirt, a pair of dark capris and flats, "Bad time, Gwen?"

"No, just...didn't expect to see you here." She looked to Jess and Cindy and gestured lightly, "Guys, you remember Mayday, right?"

"Parker's kid, right?"

"The one and only...well, not really. Alternate dimensions and all. You get my point." She sat on the seat and grinned at the two, "Sorry for cutting in. I heard from Peter that Gwen went to meet up over here and I was curious."

"Hey, the more the merrier. Just hope you don't mind getting stared at." Jess gestured to the other customers again.

"Yeesh, I'm kinda glad camera phones still aren't a thing where I'm from." Mayday's eyes drifted to Cindy. For some reason the other Spider refused to look her straight on, instead leveling her gaze downwards at her coffee cake, "Uh...is there something on my face? Breath stink? I tried some Earth-001 meatballs."

"What? No, it's..." Cindy coughed, "I mean, when you caught me and Peter last time it was..."

Mayday blinked, her expression blank, before her eyes suddenly widened and she pointed a shaky finger at Cindy, "Wait, that was you?! Back in the bunker and the-"

"Okay, okay, I don't think anyone else needs to hear this!" Cindy shot back, cheeks flushed a dark shade of red. Gwen raised an eyebrow. First the costume and now whatever this was? Apparently Gwen wasn't the only Spider that had a shit go of her first year.

"Ohohoho, what's this now?" Jess asked, her smile predatory.

"Nothing! It was-"

"Nothing my butt! Both your pants were off! I've never been so scarred in my life!" Mayday cut in.

Jess whistled tauntingly while Gwen facepalmed, "It was a phase! Pheromones! Blame the spider that bit us!" Cindy defended desperately, "Look, we can all agree it was a stupid time, right? We were being hunted by weirdo Vampires and a giant mystical spider wanted me and Peter to screw like rabbits. We're cool now. I even got a date out of Johnny Storm out of it, so it wasn't a total loss."

"Ugh, Uncle Johnny too? Cripes..." Mayday cringed.

"...This is why I hate dealing with alternate kids. Someone's always a dad or an uncle." Cindy sighed.

"Feeling's mutual, Silk." Mayday sighed and turned to Jess, "Please don't tell me you dated my dad too."

"What, me and Spider-Man? Not a chance. My powers make him go ballistic half the time...though, he does have a cute butt-"

"Gah!"

"Alright, enough teasing the traumatized teenage girl," Gwen said, rolling her eyes with a slight smile on her face. Whenever a bunch of Spiders got together it was like something compelled them to make fun. Maybe whatever gave them their powers was just a troll, "Look, can we just eat? I only had some cereal and I really wanna relax after our last shitshow of a concert."

"What happened?" Cindy asked.

"That Mysterio asshole thought he could crash it and 'spell Spider-Gwen's doom'." She made air-quotes, "Ruined the entire thing  _and_  we had to refund everyone cause we only got through one song. Randy's trying to get us a new concert that's just low-key enough that we won't risk a repeat."

"The consequences of having an open identity. Thankfully I'm not one of the big names back home, so I don't have to deal with that," Jessica said, "Surprised you haven't gone crazy yet."

"It's nothing compared to prison," Gwen muttered, soft enough that none of them could hear. "That's not even the worst part. Cap got on my case cause Peter ended up going on patrol even after I told him it'd be a bad idea to draw attention to himself. I think she's sizing him up and wondering if she can recruit him to S.H.I.E.L.D." Cap already made the offer to her, though she was still on the fence after what she saw on the Raft.

"Speaking of your new housemate," Jess cut in, "How's he settling in? I could barely deal with being away from Jerry for a day. Can't imagine what it's like being here without being able to go back."

"It's not so bad with Murderdock in prison." If there was one thing she could be proud of, it was that, "Anyway, he's...alright. Nervous, obviously, but he's got a job and he's talking with that creepy AI of his to take his mind off this."

"Still living at your place, right?"

"...Yeah?" Gwen's eyes narrowed. She didn't like Jess' tone, "Nowhere else to go, like I said."

"Right, just checking."

"Uh, no, you're  _implying_  something. Out with it, Jess."

"Didn't want to say anything, but..." She leaned back on the chair, "Well, when a guy and a girl live in a place and they see each other at their best and worst..." Gwen raised a skeptical brow and Jess put up her hands, "Hey, I'm just saying. It happened with me and Roger. It has a habit of sneaking up on you, you know? One second he's just a pal and the next you're in the shower together."

"Could we  _please_ stop talking about the lovelives of my alternate dads?" Mayday pleaded, "God, it's bad enough that just about every alternate version we meet wants to get into my spandex. There's something wrong when Noir's one of the least creepy alternates."

"Yeah, Mayday has a point," Gwen said, "Peter's great, but I'm really not in the right place for anything right now." And even if she was she wasn't exactly brimming with options. Now that her face was plastered across all over New York people either ran screaming or they asked for her autograph. Finding a date who wasn't a creeper in the middle of that was like finding the hay in the needlestack.

She was sure her dad would be happy about her being forever single if... _when_  he woke up.

"Speaking of. Forgot to ask earlier, Day. Any progress on the Earth-19999 thing?"

"Er...somewhat. I'll talk to Pete about it more after we finish an experiment."

"You come here alone?"

"Not really." She suddenly looked troubled, "I thought Pete could use some guy time so I 'persuaded' Noir and Ham to hang out with him for a bit."

"Wait, what?!" Gwen screamed, "Are you crazy?! You think leaving those two alone with him is a good idea?!"

"Hey, Billy said he'd catch up as soon as he got more data!" Mayday defended, "Besides, it's better than staying cooped up in your apartment all by himself. "

"Ugh,  _fine_ , but if he starts talking about 'them crazy dames' I'm blaming you." She grabbed one of the free shakes and sucked on the straw, losing herself in conversation with the others that lasted for the better part of an hour. She was getting worried over nothing. So what if Noir and Ham were with him? Things couldn't have gotten too bad, right?

As if on cue, a couple of police cars zipped past them, sirens blaring. They all looked at one another, "So...we gonna follow em?" Cindy asked, her drink already set down.

"I'm supposed to keep a low profile..." Gwen muttered.

"Nothing wrong with scoping it out from the rooftops," Jess said, "If the police handle it? Great. If not then we could pitch in. Nothing wrong with not letting people die, right?"

"I...guess." She really should've refused, but she had to admit she was antsy. That many cops usually meant trouble, "But we only pitch in if they can't handle it, alright? I'm still on thin ice."

"Don't gotta tell us twice, Gwen," Mayday unbuttoned her shirt and showed off the spandex underneath, "Come on, time's wasting!"

* * *

"Have you guys ever been on a date?"

Ham, Noir and UK looked up from their food and gave Peter a questioning look. The four of them were on the roof of an office building, high enough that they didn't risk getting caught even with their costumes. Gwen probably would've been mad about him being in the suit after what happened, but Karen wanted to see more of the outside and he didn't want to leave her alone with Betty after that collar joke(?) earlier.

He had to admit, it was...weird hanging out with them. Ham was him as a pig and apparently old enough to have a teenage daughter, despite how he acted. Noir, on the other hand, was just...creepy. The trenchcoat and guns reminded him of that Punisher guy who made the news a few months ago. All he was missing was the skull on his chest.

"What brought this on, lad?" UK asked, a smile on his face. He was the easiest to hang out with, mostly because he wasn't another version of him. Apparently Pavtir - Indian version of him - was busy with something else and couldn't come.

"Well, it's just..." Peter set his burger down. Was it right to ask them for advice? He couldn't exactly ask Gwen and Karen wasn't much help. He could've asked Betty, but he got the feeling she'd tease him non-stop if he said anything, "I just...I asked out Mary Jane - the one from this dimension - out on a date and I...don't actually know what to do."

The three of them looked at one another briefly before UK spoke up, "So am I correct that you want advice for the date with this Ms. Jane?"

"Uh...y-yeah, mostly." Peter rubbed the back of his head, "The last time I asked someone out it was to prom, and her dad ended up being a Supervillain so I had to ditch her. Never even got a dance..."

"Ah, the old dating your nemesis' daughter problem. I've been on a few of those myself." Ham said. Peter still found it weird that his suit looked more like a second skin than a costume. Even the mask had perfectly formed mouth holes, "Those can be a lot of fun. The make-ups are really explosive, let me tell ya. There was this one time Sandduck's daughter-"

"We don't need to hear your dating history, little orphan hammie." Noir muttered. His voice sounded way too gravelly, like someone who smoked ten packs a day. Noir turned to Peter, "Kid, what the hell are you even doing, getting involved? Shouldn't you be focusing on going back home?"

He was. Mayday came with an idea earlier: make a video message and then they'd go to his dimension to see if they could find May and Mr. Stark. He made the message and gave UK the USB a a while ago. Still, that meant he had to wait and he didn't like the idea of pacing in the apartment with nothing to do.

"W-Well I-"

"Ah, let the kid have some fun!" Ham cut in, "Not everyone has a stick up their butt, Noir. Actually, when was the last time you got some action?"

"...That's none of your business."

"That long, huh? No wonder you're so grouchy all the time." Noir glared, which the cartoon animal met with a carefree grin, "So, little Peter, give us the details! Mary Jane, huh? That's a keeper. Happily married to mine going 20 years strong now."

"I-It's not a big deal. It's just...I asked her out after their concert last week. We were supposed to go on a date a couple of days ago, but she was busy. We're gonna go next week instead and...well, I dunno what to do. I looked up some good food places around here, but I've never been on actual, you know, date-date before. I don't wanna screw this up..."

UK was the first to speak, "Hmm, well, I don't know much about this Mary Jane, but I can only give you advice I'd tell anyone: be a gentleman, never presume and always keep an attentive mind. There's nothing a lady dislikes more than when her companion for the night is focused on other things during an outing."

"Got that from your date with Lady Spider, did you?" Noir asked.

"Lady Spider? Perish the thought! Me and Ms. Reilly were out on patrol, nothing more."

"Right, that's what you call it." Ham snorted, "And I'm sure Anya wasn't playing the third wheel cause she didn't want you to take the masks off."

"Anya? She's my student. Our relationship is strictly professional."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that." Ham chewed on his ham (cannibalism...) sandwich thoughtfully, "Man, what is it with your hairless apes? It's like someone has to blow an airhorn in your face to get you to understand."

"Not all of us can just wave our asses in front of people's faces, Pig." Noir rolled his eyes.

"Wait a minute, Reilly?" Peter asked, "You mean...is her name May?"

"Ah...well, yes," UK said.

"...You're going out with a version of my aunt." Peter put both hands on his eyes and groaned. It was bad enough when that waiter and Mr. Delmar asked after her, but now this? ...At least she was a Superhero in one world. That was something, "Back on topic, please. Do you guys have any advice? Besides the whole 'be a gentleman' thing, I mean. There's gotta be more to it than that, right?"

"Depends on what you're looking for. Is this just fun or are you looking for a long distance, cross-dimension relationship thing?" Ham asked, "Cause those are two different things. You just want some fun you take her to a good mudhole, get a few drinks, maybe go dancing. You want something bigger you're gonna have to start romancing her. Be the shoulder for her to cry on when she needs you and pick her up when she's down."

Wow...that actually sounded like good advice. Color Peter impressed.

"I still think this is a bad idea." Noir scoffed, "You're homeward bound, kid. Any kind of relationship with anyone here's gonna screw things up. I've seen other Spiders get tangled sideways cause they tried to make a go of it. Trust me, it never ends well."

"You're free to give advice, Noir, but ultimately it's his choice," UK said, "I'll admit my idea of courtship is...dated, so I can only repeat my advice from before. Be a gentleman and ensure that you never presume. A lady dislikes when a gentleman expects too much and vice-versa."

"Uh, thanks." Peter rubbed the back of his head. Did he want more with Mary Jane? He wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for them messing up(?) on Titan. Still, if Mayday and Ham were any indication then at least two versions of him ended up settled for life with redheads. She was pretty and confident and had a great singing voice...well, he liked Liz for a lot of the same reasons, so was it so bad?

"Hey, it's your funeral." Noir finished off the last of his soda.

"What about you, Noir? Ham has a wife and UK's going out with, um, Lady Spider." Who was most definitely not his aunt, if only for the sake of his sanity, "What about you? Any relationship?"

His grip on the styrofoam tightened and he let a strained breath, "...No."

"Oh, come on, we're all friends here!" Ham said, "You know about all of us, why not tell us?"

"...Fine, only cause you're not gonna shut up about it." He set the cup down, "There was...a woman. Felicia Hardy, but you probably know her as the Black Cat. She...invited me to her bed one night when I was younger. I was young and stupid, thought it meant she mighta liked me. Turns out she was just looking for a sucker to keep her bed warm that night." He sighed, "Held a torch for her for a while till I eventually moved on. Got together with Mary Jane."

"You got together with MJ too?" Peter asked. Was this the multiverse trying to tell him something? It seemed like it.

"Not for long, kid. She fought in the Spanish Civil War. She's got shell shock, or PTSD, you call it nowadays. Tried to talk to her about it, but she never wanted to. There was a...distance between us. Maybe it would've worked if I told her I was Spider-Man, but by the time I even thought about it we were already broken up. Wasn't surprised. You don't leave the war without scars."

"Oh..." Peter was almost tempted to reach out a hand, but the fear of his fingers being bitten off kept him from moving.

"Man, is there anything that's not depressing about you?" Ham asked, receiving a harsh glare from Noir in return.

"Sure, there was a time we caught a pig and roasted him over the campfire. Want me to tell you about that?" He asked back nastily.

"Was it a big pig? Cause piglets are too chunky-"

Ham's (disturbing) response was cut off by the sound of a crashing car below. Eyes wide, Peter ran to the edge of the roof and gasped at the sight below. Five people, all of them dressed in different costumes. He recognized them from the news reports. The Sinister Six...even though there were only five of them. Boomerang, Shocker, Overdrive, Beetle and Gorilla-Man. From what he heard from Gwen she'd tangled with them a few times.

Mostly he was curious on how they kept escaping prison. Must have had amazing lawyers.

Two police cars were overturned and the cops were knocked out on the ground. No injuries, at least from what he could see, "It appears they're robbing the armored truck," UK said beside him, "Should we introduce ourselves, gentlemen?"

"Gwen said I should keep my head down..." How many sacks of cash was that now? Still no police in sight, "...Well, she did say I could get involved if things got bad enough."

"Good enough for me!" Ham was the first to jump, landing on the back of the getaway driver, "Hey, come on, I don't wanna be the only one having fun!"

"Damn pig..."

Noir shook his head and jumped down after him, UK and Peter following soon after. Overdrive was out cold, which just left the other four. Noir rushed towards the weirdo gorilla while Ham tangled with the boomerang guy, which left UK to deal with Beetle and him with Shocker. Peter had to admit, the fight back at school really wasn't his best. Maybe he could do better this time.

"What the heck?!" Shocker dropped the sack of cash, "More Spiders?! I thought there was only one of you!"

"There's a lot of us." Peter shrugged, "So, what do you say you put your hands up and surrender?"

Shocker raised his hand and fired his gauntlets. Peter jumped over the sonic boom and winced at the ringing in his ears. It was like marching band all over again, "I'll take that as a no!" He landed on top of the armored car in a crouch.

"Peter, should I activate instant kill-"

"No!" Why did he know she'd say that? "Just activate grenade web!"

"Activating grenade web."

Peter jumped to the air again and lobbed the grenade onto Shocker. Poor guy barely had time to scream before he was covered head to toe in a cocoon of webbing that left only his face exposed, "You should've surrendered!"

"Go...to hell!"

His spider-sense tingled and he jumped to avoid the low blast that punched through the web. On the bright side it hit Boomerang. On the not so bright side so was Ham, "Hey, watch it!" Ham yelled. He didn't seem hurt, and from what little she saw nothing could hurt him. Boomerang guy's boomerangs just bounced off him like he was made of rubber.

"Sorry!" Peter ducked the next blast and lobbed another grenade web. From behind him UK flipped over Beetle and webbed up her wings. Unlike Ham his moves were precise and looked like someone who actually practiced. Mr. Stark always said he needed more of that.

"Stop playing around with him!" Noir screamed. He was doing good against Gorilla Guy. Well, good in the sense that he wasn't getting hit and Gorilla Guy was. Peter kinda felt bad, seeing the big guy's face bruise and bloody from Noir's every hit. Mayday warned him that the other Spider could be kinda brutal, but seeing it firsthand still made him cringe.

Shocker broke through the webbing again and fired another blast, "Not working! Activate taser web!"

"It won't work, Peter. Sensors show that the costume is padded and resistant to electric shocks," Karen said.

"Let's take the costume out then!" Peter always had doubts on hitting people in costume. Mr. Barnes and Giant-Man could take the hits, but most people couldn't. Better to be safe than sorry, right? A few extra bucks of web fluid was worth that.

That didn't mean he couldn't do something similar if he had to.

Peter webbed down Shocker's legs and landed in front of him. Before the Supervillain could raise his gauntlets to fire Peter grabbed handful of quilted cloth from his chest and pulled back.

The sound of tearing fabric reached his ears even through all the other noise. Shocker screamed and used both hands to cover his chest, probably more out of shock than any sense of decency, "Here, hold this for me!" He attached the end of the web to Shocker's chest and took a few steps back, "Taser web."

Shocker convulsed briefly and fell to the ground, right arm twitching. Peter detached the web and looked at the others. Ham was sitting on Boomerang's back without a care in the world while UK tied up Beetle and apologized for any unnecessary roughness. Off to the side Noir punched Gorilla Guy one last time and stood up, gloved hands covered in blood.

Well...that worked.

He looked around them. A few people were taking pictures now that the danger had passed, but his attention was drawn to the opposite rooftop. He recognized Gwen and Mayday's costumes easily enough, but the one with the black and white spandex and the other one in a red leather jacket holding a phone up shamelessly were strangers to him.

"...Nice of them to help us," Noir muttered sarcastically, rubbing his hands on his pants.

Overdrive suddenly got up and started running for his car. Noir clicked his tongue and aimed a gun for his back, "Alright, none of that!" Mayday webbed Noir's hand to his gun while Gwen kicked Overdrive in the back, sending him sprawling across the ground with a dull thud.

"...Cool, but ow." Overdrive groaned. Gwen webbed him down to the ground.

"Hey!" Ham waved happily, "How long were you guys watching?"

"Just a minute or two," the one in the red leather jacket said, "We thought about swinging in, but you guys looked like you had it handled. Figured it wouldn't do your masculinity any favors if we stole your thunder."

"That and Jess wanted to see if either UK or Noir would lose their shirts." The one with the red scarf rolled her eyes.

"I'll never get you dames..." Noir picked the web from his gun and glared at Mayday, who shrugged back at him without a hint of shame, "I think I've had enough of this place. Let's get outta here."

"Yeah, good idea," Gwen said, "As much as I don't like Jameson, if people take any more pictures of the Spider bonanza I think he's gonna have a heart attack."

They all went up to the roof and said their goodbyes. He half-expected Gwen to lecture him about keeping a low profile, but so far she hadn't said a word since they swung their way home- er, back to her apartment. Gwen jumped through the window first and Peter followed, watching as her suit peeled away and left her back in her casual wear. He definitely needed to get a better handle on the nanobots.

"Well, that was a thing." She ran a hand through her messy hair and collapsed on the couch, toeing off her shoes lazily, "So much for keeping a low profile, huh?"

"Sorry about that."

"Eh, I was in full costume, so I can't exactly throw stones." She shrugged lazily, "You like hanging out with the the guys?"

"I guess?" Well, maybe not Noir, but the other two were cool, "Um...I gotta tell you something." He sat down on one of the beanbags, "Alright, um, don't freak out, but...I asked Mary Jane out on a date."

Gwen looked at him blankly for a second before she said, "...And?"

"Huh?"

"You told me not to freak out, so I'm assuming there's more to this."

"Uh...no, just that."

"Then why the heck would I freak out? I'm her friend, not her mom." Gwen rolled her eyes, "So, I'm guessin' there's a reason you told me about this supposedly freak-out worthy news. Out with it."

"Well...I wanted some advice," He rubbed the back of his head, "I tried asking those three, but they were kinda...general, I guess? I mean you know Mary Jane best, right? You're one of her best friends. I figured if anyone would know something it'd be you."

"I don't think I know her as well as you think, but sure, I'll give it the old college try." Gwen sat up on the couch, "First we gotta get you some new clothes. I know from experience that spandex does nothing to someone who's friends with a formerly convicted Superhero."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And maybe a haircut. The good boy style's not exactly her favorite thing in the world."

Oh...this was gonna be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, not my best work. The next chapter - date with Mary Jane - will hopefully be better. If the date's short enough I might be able to combine it with the Gwen-coma dad visit.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. Given that Gwen's prison sentence was only a year long in canon, this really has me tempted to re-write and remove the Suicide Squad references from past chapters and just have Gwen serving her jail time. Removing this plotline means we don't get bogged down by extra, angsty shit and Gwen's just a more low-key open hero. Helps keep the lighter tone of the fic as well since my friend complained that the Suicide Squad plotline felt more like something for Looking Glass.
> 
> That and it would explain why Gwen was so adamant that MCU keep a low profile: she herself is trying for a less attention-grabby approach and now here this cinnamon roll comes doing the exact same crap that got her in trouble in the first place. Hmm, what do you guys think? Cause right now I'm leaning towards yes now that the canon has given the character an out and it'd make Gwen more cheery.
> 
> 2\. Any villain requests? So far I'm considering Jackal, if only for shenanigans and Gwen being squicked out by a guy old enough to be her dad crushing on her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up: I went back to the last chapters and removed all Suicide Squad references, so now Gwen's status quo is just about identical to what she had at the end of her comic run. This had the unfortunate side-effect of her being a tad more cynical since she spent a year in prison getting assaulted due to a biased jury.
> 
> OTOH it means we don't have to worry about any heavy SHIELD crap. I promise I'll try to lighten Gwen up in the future chapters. Marvel Rising is gonna be helpful since the relationship that Gwen had there with her dead best friend Kevin (aka Peter with ice powers) is easy to take inspiration from. Whether romantic or platonic, MCU and Gwen should have more fun in the future.

"Alright, Peter, you can do this...!"

Peter gulped and adjusted the collar of the red sleeveless vest. Gwen suggested something proto-casual, whatever that meant, which left him with said vest, a long-sleeved black shirt, dark sneakers and a pair of torn skinny jeans that were way tighter than the Spider suit. Gwen said he 'had the muscles to pull it off', which he kinda doubted, but she was the expert on all things Mary Jane.

He slicked back his gelled (and freshly cut) hair. Gwen told him Mary Jane wasn't a flowers or chocolate type of girl, but he still felt kinda like a jerk going up to her apartment with nothing but his own sweaty palms.

"You can do this, Peter. You can do this. It's just an older girl..." Who he apparently married in at least two worlds and had a superpowered daughter with, "Oh crap..." He gulped down the last of his bottled water and tossed it into the nearby bin before knocking on the door.

Memories of prom night with Liz came rushing back. What if he screwed up again? What if her dad was that Shocker guy Gwen kept ragging about and he opened the door right then and there? No, wait, Mary Jane would've definitely said something about it considering Gwen was one of her best friends. Maybe he was worrying for nothing? Liz was the exception, not the rule. Not everyone-

Whatever platitude he was about to say died when Mary Jane opened the door, "Tiger? You're kinda early." She opened the door further and saw she was till wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of pants. Her hair was wet, "Just came out of the shower, actually. I thought we were meeting at the place in, like, an hour?"

"U-Uh, yeah, but I...don't really know this place." He could've asked Gwen, and he did, but she suggested he go over to MJ's instead. Glory was out and it'd give him an excuse to talk to her alone.

Mary Jane blinked owlishly before she frowned, "Oh, shit, sorry! I almost forgot about your whole...dimension thing." She laughed awkwardly. It was cuter than she probably thought it was, "Well, come in! I'll just change a bit then we can go." She stepped aside and let him in, "Uh...don't mind the mess. Glory was supposed to clean up but she's just such a slob."

"Yeah, I'm sure she is," Peter replied back jokingly.

"Alright, well." She grabbed a shirt and tossed it into the laundry bin, "I shouldn't be too long. Just watch some TV or browse the net or something. Password's murderface, no caps. Betty insisted."

"I'll just wait, thanks."

Peter sat on the couch and looked at the slightly ajar door. It was closed enough that he couldn't see anything, but he still felt...weird being here, just a room away from where a pretty redhead (and that was just cheating) was changing for their  _date_. He'd never actually gone on a date before. Was it creepy for him to be here, even if MJ told him it was cool? Was it alright that MJ took the lead? Cause he didn't really know this place apart from the Dollar Dog and Baskin-Robbins and he was still kinda scared to go back there-

"Nice outfit."

Peter jumped up, "H-Huh?"

"Your outfit, it looks good. Nice to know you're not just a baggy shirts and track pants kind of guy." She was joking, but Peter couldn't stop himself from rubbing his head in embarrassment. He was never really the most fashionable guy and the lack of budget here didn't help. Most of the clothes he wore nowadays were Gwen's leftovers and hand-me downs from her dad.

"Yeah, I'm a surprising kind of guy." Peter winced. That was  _so_ not smooth, "S-So don't you have classes?" Gwen was on ESU right now, meaning he couldn't text for advice as much as he  _really_ wanted to. He knew he should've taken notes...

"Prof told us to take the afternoon off." He heard the sound of something being zipped up and before he could say anything else Mary Jane opened the door fully. Peter blinked. Her baggy shirt was replaced by a black and white tanktop that exposed the freckles on her shoulders. Her shorts were 'hot pink' and the leggings underneath hugged her legs tightly.

She looked way out of his league.

"I'm guessing by the slack jaw that I actually look halfway decent." His hands raised up to cover his most-definitely-not-open mouth, "I'm just teasing, Tiger." She grabbed a pair of black chucks and put them on quickly, "We got some time to kill before the concert starts. Wanna go get something to eat?

"Oh, I..." How could he say 'I'm trying to cut back cause Gwen paid for these clothes' without feeling like a massive tool? "I'm not hungry. I-If you wanna eat then I'll come, but-"

"You don't have to be shy about asking for a few greenbacks, you know. I  _do_  know you came from another dimension so I'm not gonna hold it against you."

"I-It's not that-"

"Totally that." She put an arm around his shoulders and led him out. He tried not to squirm. She was more upfront, less shy than the girls from Midtown. Betty and Ned practically had to psyche themselves up to hold hands, "I'm a band singer, I know what it's like to look like to have to ask a friend for some dosh. I'll spot you this one and don't you dare feel like you owe me!"

He stayed quiet until they got to the nearest burger place. He had to admit, he found it funny that Burger King was apparently a universal constant when the Nobel Peace Prize wasn't, "Your meal, milady." He set the tray down and felt a small rise in confidence when MJ laughed back. When he had the mask it was easy to joke, not so much when he was just plain ol' Peter Parker.

"Thank you, good sir. You've made this maiden blush giddy." She picked up the burger and took a small bite out of it. She waited till he was eating his own burger before she said, "So, how's it working in Hipster wonderland?"

"It's actually not that bad. Mr. Albie's kind of a grouch, but he's nice enough if you don't bring up Lizards of Spiders. The boss is also really nice. I mean, I he gave me an advance even though I've only been working there for a couple of weeks."

"Don't feel bad having to clean up pickle puke?'

"Eh, it's a living," Peter shrugged, "They don't ask questions and that's really good for me. Can't exactly put 'from another dimension, don't ask' on my resume."

"You know you could always be our roadie while you're here. Betts said you were good with tech and we're not exactly hungry for gigs now that Spider-Gwen's the rebel who stood up to an oppressive system. Plus, one guy in an all-girl band? You'll never get this chance again." She grinned mischievously. He quickly tried to stop his mind from going into dark, dark places.

"Um, maybe, but what about that Randy guy?"

"He's our manager. He makes the gigs, yeah, but guy can barely calibrate a stereo."

"Huh...well, I'll think about it." It would definitely be easier and make him feel less like a mooch, "So...what are you studying in college?"

"Music degree. Guess that's not a surprise." She shrugged one shoulder, "Speaking of, you're from some fancy gifted school, right?"

"Yeah, Midtown scholarship. Helps save on tuition." God only knew they needed it, especially after Uncle Ben... "Music, why the interest there? I mean I like it too, it's just-"

"Risky career path?" Peter nodded, "Yeah, so my mom and sis tell me. If they had their way I'd be on my way into advanced accounting by now. But it's..." She put her burger down, "Alright, I'm an attention whore. It's an admitted problem and Glory's helping me through it. I could chalk that up to me having a shitty dad or some deep seated childhood trauma, but honestly I just like being up on stage."

"So why a singer? Why not an actress or a model?"

"Not sure if you meant it, but I'll take the compliment." She winked, "With music it's...I dunno, I like it. I want people to look at me because of something I did. With acting you're saying lines someone else wrote and with modeling it's cause of the looks you got from good genes. With music those lyrics are  _mine_ , and when people cheer I know they're cheering because of something _I_  made. Well, me and the rest of the band."

"I...I get it."

"You would." She reached across the table and squeezed his shoulder, "You and Gwen are the same, kinda. You don't get anything putting on the mask. Hell, Gwen got shit on for two years and spent a year in super Gitmo and you don't see her giving up. She'll say she's taking it low, but the second someone looks like they're gonna bruise she'll swing right in."

"Gwen mentioned prison before..."

"Yeah, she doesn't like talking about it and, contrary to how it may appear, I'm not a gossip. You want to talk to her about it you'll have to ask her." She looked at the clock, "Concert starts in about 20 minutes. We should probably book it. Don't suppose you could swing us over there?" she asked teasingly.

"What? Uh, I have my webshooters, but I didn't bring my costume-"

"I'm just joshing ya, Tiger. Come on, let's take the subway like a pair of plebs."

The concert was for someone named Dazzler. MJ didn't tell him much, said she wanted it to be a surprise, "Here." She handed him the weird glowstick and wrapped her right arm around his left. To keep from getting getting separated, she'd said. He wasn't complaining, "I know you're an expert on the bizarre, but I will not make fun of you if you freak out. Well, not too much."

"It's a concert, Mary Jane-"

"First of all, friends call me MJ." Friends? Was that a bad thing to say considering they were going on a date? "Second, this is not any ordinary concert, my dear padawan."

"Did you mean to say that while I'm basically holding a lightsaber?"

"Maybe."

They smushed themselves into the crowd. It wasn't front row, but it afforded them a generous view of the stage. The small, braggart part of himself wanted to web them a seat up top on the rafters. That would've been cool, right?

The crowd cheered when the lights finally dimmed and Dazzler came on stage. She looked like an odd mish-mash: a shiny silver outfit that looked like it belonged in a disco, blond hair with the tips dyed pink and bright blue facepaint across her eyes in the shape of stars. It looked weird. Then again maybe that was just him. He was always more into baseball than concerts.

At first he didn't see what the big deal was until the music's tempo picked up, and then the entire concert hall exploded with light, "Woah!" Peter raised one hand to cover his eyes and nearly dropped the glowstick. Mary Jane held his hand with her free one and cheered, "Wh-What's going on?!" He opened his eyes and was assaulted by another wave of lights. Blue, orange, yellow, purple and every color on the spectrum.

Oddly enough, it didn't really hurt his eyes like he expected it to.

"Dazzler at work!" Mary Jane screamed back, barely heard over the cheers of the crowd. She raised her glowstick and Peter watched as the colors changed to match the lights, "The world's first superpowered popstar!"

"Wait, she was powers?!"

"It's why no one's getting epileptic seizures!" She raised his hand up too, "Hah, you shoulda seen your face when the lights came on!"

"A little warning would've been nice!"

"Says the guy with the Spidey sense!" She started jumping up and down with the rest of the crowd. Peter awkwardly followed suit, "God, don't be so stiff! No one's looking at you! You don't have to be embarrassed!"

"I-I've never done this before!"

"Then we need to change that!"

Before he could shout something back Mary Jane tapped the two closest guys and gestured to him. Peter didn't know what she said - lip reading was something he never learned, despite Mr. Stark's suggestions - but he got the feeling it wasn't good.

A feeling that only worsened when both guys grinned and grabbed his arms while MJ put her hands on his back.

"H-Hey, what are you guys-"

"Popping the Dazzler cherry!" Mary Jane shouted.

Peter didn't get a chance to say anything before the three of them threw him up. It wasn't too high, so he didn't get a chance to shoot out some webs and totally break his cover. He fell back down quickly and the closest crowd of people immediately put up their hands to carry him.

"Crowd surf! Dazzler virgin over here!" Mary Jane shouted. He didn't know if anyone else heard her, but they seemed to get the gist quickly enough. Any attempts to get down were quickly ruined when the crowd passed him along with way too much ease. At the back of his mind he wondered just how often 'cherries were popped' that no one seemed at all surprised having to pass a teenager around like a basketball.

Of course, he would've been thinking more of that if he wasn't so focused on the lights.

At first he thought they were just random criss-crossing patterns with no rhyme or reason. Now he saw it, saw how they blended into one another in perfect tune with the song. Being here, lying on his back as the crowd moved him around, the music reaching at just the right pitch to make his heart beat loudly against his chest, it was... it was different from web-swinging. Now he didn't have to worry about keeping an eye out for crime or making an ass of himself cause someone might sell it to the Daily Bugle.

This was amazing.

He reached a hand out to try and touch a wisping stream of purple light. He didn't get far before another hand grabbed hold of his. He turned to the side and grinned when he caught MJ smirking at him before she was carried off in another direction by the crowd, untangling their all too brief contact. Apparently he'd started a trend. At least half a dozen people were being passed around by the crowd now.

The rest of the concert passed by in a multi-colored haze. By the time the last song died down and the lights faded Peter definitely felt a rising disappointment in his chest. How long was that? 2 hours? 3? It was too short!

He and Mary Jane stumbled out of the concert laughing and giggling. MJ's face was tinged red and her giggles were uncontrollable, "Oh God, I think...I shouldn't have accepted that girl's offer of drinks," she said with an exaggerated slur.

"Underage drinking, MJ? What would the other think?!" he said, faux scandalized.

"Ah, I have blackmail on all of them! If I'm going down I'm taking everybody with me!" She giggled again, "Besides, I saw you taking a drink first!"

"W-Well, she was really nice! And the spider-sense said it was cool."

"Yeah, that's why I took em. Figured if Mr. Spidey Boy thought it was safe I wasn't gonna get roofied."

She stopped and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. Peter stopped too and looked at her half-lidded eyes, "Wh-What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This is nice."

"What do you mean?"

"You not being an Awkward Andy." Peter refrained from telling her that someone calling people that had no room to judge, "Ever since you've been here you were kinda...stiff, ya know? Shy. Like you're worried about something. And I know that sounds like a shit thing to say considering you're trapped here and all, but I guess I've just never been a fan of angsting."

"I guess so..." He still didn't know what home was like. Was half of every life in the galaxy really dead or did Dr. Strange or Mr. Stark somehow turn things around and he'd come back to a victory?

"That and you've been treating me kinda weird. I figured you just had a crush on the pretty redhead, but the whole falling off the couch thing? Kinda obvious."

"Yeah..." Peter rubbed the back of his head, "I mean I do, uh, think you're pretty, but it's not just that. It's cause, um." He practically saw Gwen glaring at him. He still couldn't stop himself, "Uh...I-I found out that in, like, a couple of universes we ended up together and had a kid. I mean, in one of them I'm a pig and you're a crane, but that's still-"

"Woah, woah! Slow down, Tiger!" She laughed. Was that a good sign? "Start from the beginning?"

"W-Well, it's like I said. That team of Spiders that Gwen hangs out with? One of their members is Mayday Parker, and she's, uh, our daughter. Well, not really 'our' daughter, but...well, you know." She nodded and let him continue, "And then I found out Spider-Ham's married to Mary Jane too and Noir apparently went out with her too."

"And, what, you thought had to follow their lead?"

"What? No, no, no! I mean, when I first saw you I was surprised and because you were so pretty-"

"Flattery is good. This pleases me."

"-and then when I saw you up on stage it was...great. You're a great singer, you make that stage yours and you've got a mean swing with a guitar." They both laughed at that, "I just...I mean, you're-"

She kissed him on the cheek. Peter's eyes widened and he stepped back slightly in surprise. It shouldn't have been shocking. He'd been kissed there before. Granted it was by Aunt May and that old lady he'd helped across the street that one time on patrol, but it still counted!

"Y-You-"

"You're sweet, Tiger." She smiled and squeezed his shoulder softly, "And hey, if you wanna go out and have fun again then you know my number."

"Y-Yeah..." He gulped and looked down.  _Ask her_ , he internally screamed, "So...do you think I have a chance, MJ?"

"A chance?" She looked confused for a second and then her eyes suddenly widened, "O-Oh, you mean, like, an actual relationship? Boyfriend girlfriend?"

"I mean, yeah...do I not?"

"Oh, Tiger..." That...wasn't a good sign, "Peter, you're a sweet guy, and under normal circumstances I'd give it a shot, but...aren't you leaving? I mean you don't live in this universe. You're going back eventually and, no offense, but I tried the long distance thing with my last boyfriend. Didn't work out, and he just went to L.A. I don't think another dimension's gonna be better."

"Well, the Web Warriors have dimensional watches. It lets em go travel through dimensions whenever they want. So at worst it'd be like a 5 minute walk. 10 minutes tops."

"Yeah, maybe, but...I dunno." She sighed, "Sorry if I'm being a mega bitch, but I've been burned a few times already and I kinda just wanna take it easy, you know? Hang out here, maybe a couple of dates. Nothing serious."

"Oh...cool." He got that, he did. It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no either, "So...that's a maybe?"

"That's a maybe." They smiled at one another, "On a lighter note, I am just drunk enough to think that getting swung back home by Spider-Man is a good idea. What about you?"

"I still don't have a costume."

She looked around briefly and smiled when she saw the stall selling concert merchandise, "Wait here." She went there and came back in record time, carrying a pair of yellow goggles, a red handkerchief wide enough to wrap around his jaw and a pair of black, studded gloves, "Here." She dragged him to the nearby alley and put it on him quickly, "Hmm..." She pulled up the hood of his vest and grinned, "Perfect!"

"Really?" He looked down unsurely.

"Oh, don't be a spoilsport! Have some fun!"

"Alright, let's go!"

Swinging back with Mary Jane's arms wrapped around his neck was different. Most people he swung with were those he was saving from danger, so they always panicked and sreamed and treated him like a lifeline. Mary Jane cheered and whooped, sometimes even unwrapping one arm to wave at the people below taking pictures. He chalked that up at least partially to her being drunk.

They swung through the window of her apartment. Mary Jane let go of him and laughed, face red with excitement, "Man, I get why Gwen never bothered with a drivers license. That was great." She pulled back her hair and smiled at him, "Thanks, Tiger."

He lowered the handkerchief, "Yeah, don't mention-"

Spider-sense. Peter stopped and looked out the window. Police sirens. A lot of them.

"What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly losing all trace of her mirth.

"Something's happening. A lot of police cars and spider-sense is going nuts." He looked out the window and watched the police cars before they were obscured by the buildings, "Should I go? Gwen said to keep a low profile, but-"

"Hey." Mary Jane clapped his arm and grinned, "Go get em, Tiger."

His uncertainty lasted for a few more seconds before he smiled, pulled up the handkerchief and swung out the window.

* * *

Back in school again.

Gwen sighed and tapped her pen as Professor Warren rattled on about genetics and sociological factors. It wasn't that the subject was boring, (okay, maybe kinda) it was more because the guy sounded like he couldn't be assed to really care. This was the Easy A course, and while that might've been a good thing for her it also meant that no one really had to pay attention.

Which left her classmates free to fucking stare at her.

She knew it'd happen ever since the Dean clarified that she was free to continue studying and catch up. She wasn't stupid. A year ago she was just Gwen Stacy, drummer for one hit wonders the Mary Janes. Now she was Spider-Woman, the lawfully innocent former vigilante who just happened to be the former police chief's daughter.

Oh, and she had powers too, which might've had something to do with it.

She caught a couple of girls whispering and pointing at her, which she did her best to ignore. Either they were gonna ask for an autograph or, as was more likely, they were worried about what 'that menace' was doing here. Jameson still rattled the saber sometimes, but less so now that she wasn't an active vigilante with a warrant. Now bullying her was about as exciting as saying Red Skull was evil. Nothing much to be gained from it.

She counted the ticks of the clock. Just five more minutes to freedom. She hoped Peter was having fun, at least. Those tickets were a bitch to get.

She heaved a sigh of relief when the prof cut the lecture. Best part about coast courses was that she didn't have to take any notes, "Hmm..." She opened her phone and frowned when she caught the message from Cap,  _'We need to meet.'_  A year ago she would've been on cloud nine getting a essage from her. Now she jut mostly felt annoyed that certain people couldn't take no for an answer.

Gwen stood and nearly crashed into the two whispering girls from earlier, "Oh, sorry." She tried to slip past them.

"Oh, no prob!" The blonde - Jenny Slater, if the remembered correctly - suddenly moved to block her, "Um, I know this might be weird, but we just wanted to say thank you. You know, for being Spider-Gwen."

"Oh, uh...thanks." She should've been happy. Instead she just to wondered when the other shoe was going to drop.

"Yeah, you're like, a modern day Superhero." The other one, a short haired brunette, added. Gwen didn't know her name, "That jackass Jameson was wrong."

"I guess..."

"Big fans." Jenny said. Her smile was just a bit too wide to be sincere.

"Okay, thanks again. I, uh, got some homework to do and-"

"We were gonna go to a rally," Brunette said, "It's protesting against Jameson's administration. Did you know he spent millions of dollars funding the Anti-Spider task force?" Yes, she knew that. Her dad was the head of it for two years, "Millions of dollars that he could've spent on something better than attacking an innocent woman."

"You want me to attend a rally giving a middle finger to Jameson?"

"Yeah! I mean, we thought you'd be hooked!" Jenny said, "And the cops aren't gonna be so ballsy when they see Spider-Gwen there-"

Brunette elbowed her side, her expression marred in a quick scowl. Gwen sighed. There it was. They just wanted her there to be a Spider-Woman shaped barricade. Probably timed it perfectly with the Jameson rally. First she'd agree to that and then she'd be their muscle for whatever rally came in the future.

Or maybe she was just being paranoid and cynical. Either way she wasn't biting.

"I can't. I got a load of homework, like I said. But good luck with that."

She was almost out of the room before Professor Warren called her back, "Ms. Stacy, could I have a word?" She winced. Technically she had no proof that the guy wasn't just a coaster with tenure, but after that clone BS with Kaine she really didn't want to talk with Miles Warren more than she needed to. Only reason she took the class was cause her last professor wasn't offering this term.

"Yes, Professor Warren?"

"I've been informed of your...circumstances." Gwen resisted the urge to snort, "Classmates seem to pay you undue attention and I worry that it might impact your course studies."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you get bitten by a spider that gives you powers."

"Right..." He coughed, "Well, as I was saying I worry about your performance. If you wish then I can re-schedule and give you personal classes. It would make it easier to focus without worrying about the looks from your peers."

Trying to be nice or a creep? Gwen couldn't decide, "No thanks, sir. Even if I did take it I still have other classes and I get stared at just as much there, so there wouldn't be any point. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Oh...yes, of course, Ms. Stacy."

She turned away and shuddered at the disappointed look on his face. Right, first things first: transfer out of the class as soon ASAP. Maybe he wouldn't become a jackal themed supervillain, but he still gave her the creeps.  _Don't be so paranoid, Gwen_ , the annoying part of her chided,  _Different dimensions, different rules! Just look at Peter, Peter and Peter!_

Gwen stepped out into the courtyard and facepalmed when she saw Captain America standing nearby in full costume, completely ignoring the people taking selfies next to her. She couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or cringe at the two cups of Starkbucks coffee in her hands.

"You know, when I didn't text back I kinda assumed that made it clear that I didn't want to talk just yet,  _not_  that you were waiting out here in full costume."

"I had a mission. Didn't have time to get a change of fatigues." Cap offered her one of the cups. Gwen rolled her eyes and took it. Free coffee was free coffee

"And I'm sure that drawing a crowd and making it that much harder for me to pretend I didn't know you was just a happy coincidence." Gwen grinned back bitingly.

"Heh...your wit's gotten sharper."

"Yeah, funny what a year in prison and your dad getting beaten into a coma does to you." She started walking, Cap keeping pace with her easily. She could just swing away. Everyone already knew who she was and there wasn't a law against it as long as she didn't web up any non-consenting people, "Oh, and let's not forget getting assaulted daily by the prisoners looking for a punching bag while the guards just munched popcorn and watched. That was fun."

"Gwen-"

"How'd you even know I was here? Did you get my schedule?"

"Who do you think ensured you could still attend classes despite your year long...absence?" Gwen's grip on the styrofoam tightened.

"What do you want, Cap? A thank you? I already said I wasn't interested in your Suicide Squad." She hated this, being so angry all the time, but she couldn't stop herself. Both she and her dad lost a year of her life, and for what? Cause Jameson wanted a target, cause Murdock wanted her to prove he wasn't a monster. Now her dad was still out, everyone knew Peter was the Lizard and Uncle Ben hated her.

"Same offer as before. I want you to join S.H.I.E.L.D."

"So I can dump people in prison where the guards treat them like pals? Yeah, sounds great." She just barely stopped herself from sneering, "I thought you said lay low."

"I did, but clearly you aren't following my advice given yesterday's headline of a group of Spider people stopping the Sinister Six-

"Weird, considering there's only five of them."

"-from robbing an armored convoy," Cap continued, not rising to her bait, "Gwen, you're a good person, I wouldn't have tried to help you if I think believe that. You were gifted great powers and you chose to do good with them, to be a hero-"

"And the second I stick my head out people are gonna use it as an excuse to dump me back inside," Gwen said, "I want to help people, Cap, but it's like She-Hulk said - to them I'm not Gwen Stacy. I'm Spider-Gwen, the person who can cling to walls and lift trucks over my head like it's nothing. I'm not gonna risk it, not while my dad still needs me."

Cap let out a deep sigh, "I understand. If you change your mind, you know how to contact me. The same offer applies to Spider-Man as well."

"Don't count on it, Cap. He's not staying here for long."

She tossed the cup into the closest bin and jumped into a swing. One good thing about having an open identity; she didn't have to duck into alleys and nasty bathrooms to change into her costume.

She took the same route back to the hospital and rushed through the check-in. The receptionist, Annabelle, was a nice woman, probably one of the few who didn't care about who she was. To her Gwen was just a daughter visiting her dad.

Gwen tried to smile when she opened the door. Couldn't. No matter how many times she saw him it never got easier. Her dad was someone she always looked up to, figuratively and literally. Seeing him in a bed with a tube on his arm, attached to a machine that kept him from wasting away, it was difficult. It didn't belong to Captain George Stacy to be so weak.

"Hey, dad." She grabbed his right hand with both hands and sat on the chair. Dr. Strange said he was doing better and that he'd wake up 'relatively soon', but so far she wasn't noticing any changes. Her hold tightened and she let the Venom release more spiders over his skin. It wouldn't help, but it did make her feel better, "I've had a shitty day. What about you? Anything new?"

Nothing.

"Prof Warren was being kind of a creep," she continued. Dr. Strange also said talking helped in some cases. She wasn't sure if she believed it, "A couple of girls wanted me to be at a rally and Captain America was waiting for me with coffee. Oh, and Peter and MJ are going out on a date. Never thought those two would be an item. It's weird, isn't it?"

Still nothing.

"...When are you gonna wake up?" She let go of his hand and leaned back on the chair, "It's been a year, dad. I thought when I got out of prison you'd be there, giving me that disappointing shake of the head cause I didn't know what the hell I was doing. Then I'd say you weren't much better cause you gave yourself up to try and prove me innocent and then we'd go watch Dad Cops again because neither of us'll admit the other was right."

Gwen closed her eyes when he didn't stir. Of course, what was she expecting? This wasn't a comic book of a Disney film. Life didn't just throw out happy endings cause people deserved it.

She wanted to talk more, but her spider-sense suddenly came on at full blast, "Ah, what the...?" She walked to the window and narrowed her eyes at the fain sounds of sirens in the distance, "...Leave it, Gwen." Keep a low profile, don't stick her head out. Her hands gripped the windowframe tightly and she pushed herself back. Her dad was here and he needed her. He-

"Son of a bitch!" It was hard to see in the setting sun, but she definitely saw a figure webswinging through the air before disappearing around the corner of the farthest building. Peter, it had to be; Mayday and the others were too busy solving the dimension issue for a sudden visit.

Gwen opened the window and looked back at her dad one last time.

"Sorry, dad."

She let the Venom cover her completely and jumped out the window, not seeing her dad's right hand twitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done. Like I said Gwen's segment ended up being pretty cynical due to the changes, but I promise I'll try to tweak that in the coming chapters. Anyway, the Mary Jane date probably ended up being pretty disappointing for people who wanted more fluff and comedy, but hopefully it sufficed and showed off enough of the interplay. Not sure if people buy the pairing as viable, though.
> 
> Next chapter will be the official debut of Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen working together (Mysterio doesn't count cause that was self-defense and Gwen did most of the work). That and MCU finally shows off his combat skills, proving that the cinnamon roll has a thick interior.
> 
> Question:
> 
> 1\. I wonder, if/when we delve into a relationship between MCU and Gwen, would you guys want it to be a quicker and fluffier piece or a slow burn kind of thing? I'm inexperienced with writing longer lasting romances like this so I'm open to suggestions.
> 
> 2\. Given that MCU has Karen, should Gwen follow suit and have her Venom be capable of speech or do we just stick to it occasionally growling and playing the overprotective chihuahua?


	8. Earth-65 Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen and Peter fight Supervillains and deal with the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An actual update? Why yes, it is :D Okay, first off I'm really sorry for the lack of updates previously. I've been busy with Comp Exams and after that it was Red Dead 2. Besides that, I just found writing this far more difficult compared to Looking Glass since I naturally gravitate to making characters act cynical and kinda like jerks, so it was harder to go back to MCU Cinnamon Roll Spidey and toning Gwen down from her last chapter. Playing Red Dead doesn't help considering the protagonist being a hardened outlaw.
> 
> All in all I feel relatively more confident with what I got, though, as expected, my fight quipping and fight scenes in general still need work. If anyone can help me with the fight banter that'd be great since I'm not really used to writing anything besides black comedy.
> 
> Anyway, the recent Ghost Spider was also helpful since it showed Gwen handling her release from prison pretty well and the public being a tad more supportive of her afterwards. I'll try my best to keep things light from now on.
> 
> I'll also be saying this now: No, I do not plan to put in 616 or Andrew Garfield or Toby Maguire Spideys, so please stop asking. No offense intended, but getting reviews that are nothing but 'can you put *insert Spider-Man here* into the story?' are getting kind of annoying. This is Gwen and MCU's story, not a giant crossover one. If that's what you're looking for then this is the wrong fic.
> 
> Oh, and just for fun, here's a rhyme someone wrote:
> 
> Spider-Man  
> Spider-Man  
> Does whatever a spider can  
> Everything's, going dark  
> "I don't feel good, Mr. Stark"  
> Oh nooooo, there went Spider-Man!

Guys on gliders. Peter was fighting armored guys flying through the air on gliders. If he wasn't trying to avoid being killed, he might've found it awesome.

Peter looked over the scene in a rush. Innocent people down on the ground trying to run away and up above in the sky were a dozen flyers covered head to toe in armor. Almost all of them wore bright orange suits that left no part of their skin exposed. The last one, who Peter assumed was the leader given the way he was cackling, wore a dark green suit instead.

First Bodega Bandit then Mysterio and now this guy. Was green the evil color in this dimension?

"Hey!" Peter swung in and knocked the closest orange guy off his glider. The guy fell to the opposite roof and Peter webbed him down before swing back around, "Don't get up on my account!"

"What the?!" The one in green turned towards him and Peter caught the scowl his Power Rangers knock-off armor his mask had, "You weren't the one I was expecting!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot- woah!" Peter dodged the thrown bomb and webbed it up quickly, "Didn't your mom ever tell you not to toss bombs at people?" He threw it up in the air and cringed when the explosion crushed through the web. Pretty high yield for something so small, "What did you pack into that thing?"

"A little concoction of my own!" Well, the shock didn't last long. Peter let go of the web just before Greenie slashed through it with an honest to god  _laser blade_. Again, if the guy wasn't trying to kill him, he would've found it cool, "You're a fast little bug, aren't you?"

"Spiders are arachnids, and yep!" He flipped over him and his spider-sense tingled. One of the armored henchmen was rushing towards him, "Hey, wait your turn!" Peter webbed him in the face and jumped off the guy's shoulders. He crashed through a nearby water tower, showing the street below in gallons of liquid, "Uh, sorry about that!" Being wet was better than being blown up, at least.

"Focusing on the civilians? Guess I'm not surprised."

The next bomb wasn't aimed at him. The green maniac tossed it at a crowd of people still trying to run, "No!" Peter focused and shot a line of webbing at the bomb before he got tackled by another one of the orange gliders, "Let go!" He shoved him away and looked down at the bomb. It was too late now; he couldn't aim like this and the web wouldn't be able to travel that fast. He saw them, their faces turning around and their expressions knotted in horror.

He didn't notice Gwen swing in until she was right on top of them.

Gwen swung over the crowd and kicked the bomb up to the closest glider. The sphere beeped once before it exploded, the sound cutting through the screams of the crowd below. Peter expected blood and chunks of meat, but all that came was burning metal.

"What-"

"The orange ones are robots!" Gwen shouted. She kicked off the head of another armored glider and exposed the wires underneath, "No need to hold back!"

Huh...that was good to know.

Peter punched through the chest of the robot holding him, easily crunching through the metal, "Special delivery!" He tossed it another robot hard enough to make them both explode. It'd been a while since he didn't have to hold back.

"You're finally here, huh?" Greenie cackled.

"God damn it, Harry!" Peter almost paused. He'd never heard Gwen sound so angry before. She swung through the air and landed on his glider. She ducked under his swipe and punched him in the face, "I saved you! You had a second chance!"

"That seems more like it's your fault than mine!"

There were at least five more. Peter yanked one off its glider and slammed it on a nearby roof. He stomped its head flat and looked up at the next one that charged at him, laser blade drawn, "You really need to upgrade your AI!" He dodged the blow, webbed the back of the glider and pulled as hard as it could. The glider broke apart and the robot flew through the air briefly before landing at the street with a loud crash.

Three more.

Another two bombs were tossed his way. Peter grabbed them both with a line of webbing and tossed them back at the flyer out front. It blew up and landed on the rooftop with an ear-splitting crash, "This is gonna cost a lot to fix!" He jumped and dropkicked the next one...right on top of a crowd of gawking civilians, "Oops!" He yanked it back up with a quick tug and webbed it to the well. Thankfully the web was strong enough to hold them.

"Yeah, Spider-Guy!" someone from below screamed.

"It's Spider-Man! And you guys should probably run!" He swung back up to the hovering glider and crouched upside down underneath it. Gwen was still fighting Greenie and the guy was definitely holding his own. He needed to help her.

But first...

His spider-sense rang and he jumped just in time to avoid being caught by the laser blade that cut the glider in half, "Woah!" He grabbed the burning chunks of metal and webbed them next to the robot on the wall. Wouldn't do for anyone to get crushed, "What are those lasers made of? Never seen anything that can cut through metal so easily. Maybe-"

"Spider-Man, less chatting and more fighting! Or at least fight while you chat!" Gwen jumped off the glider and webbed ejected two lines of webbing to the roof. She pulled herself forward using the momentum and tried to kick Greenie off his glider, but he flew down to avoid the hit, "Rrrgh, hold still!"

"Hold on!" Peter looked back the remaining sentry and swung close. It would've been easy to kick it off, but the lightsaber was practically calling out to him, "Borrowing this!" He kicked the arm holding the laser blade and snatched it up before it fell, "Let's hope this works!"

The hard light sword cut through the metal like a hot knife through butter. Peter was almost tempted to gush about how awesome it was that he'd used an honest to god lightsaber, but the sound of Gwen's frustrated scream pushed through any thought of that. Peter turned and caught her and Greenie flying through the air erratically. Peter almost cringed when she slammed him face-first into the side of a building.

"Ooh, someone's being rough!" Greenie cackled.

"This isn't funny!" Gwen jumped onto the roof and shot multiple lines of webbing at the glider's back. The glider kept flying until the line snapped taut and he was stuck in place. Gwen stood at the edge of the roof, both hands holding onto the biocables and her feet stuck to the surface off the roof to keep from flying off. For just a second, Peter swore he saw a sharp row of teeth split open her mask, but when he looked again the mask was blank again.

Greenie threw a bomb right at her. Peter moved automatically, one hand aiming for the bomb while the other aimed at Greenie's chest, "Hey, catch!" He tugged the flyer close and smashed the bomb against his glider.

His cackling stopped as soon as his ride exploded. Greenie flew forward from the impact and Peter tugged him harder. Gwen jumped into a wide arc and Peter barely had time to cut off the webbing before Gwen smashed Greenie into the roof, "It's over!" She straddled him punched him in the face twice, the upper left chunk of the helmet breaking apart after the second blow and exposing the face underneath.

Gwen's raised fist stopped mid-blow and her next words came out in a mix of shock and relief, "You're not-"

His spider-sense blared just before another explosion covered the roof. Peter coughed and covered his mouth and nose with both hands, eyes filling with tears. A smoke bomb of some kind. Peter caught a hazy figure rushing through the smoke and he aimed a web at their back.

He missed.

By the time the smoke had cleared it was just him and Gwen alone on the roof again. To her credit she looked like she was handling the smoke better than he was, though that wasn't saying much considering the way her costume pulsed and thrummed, "...Spider-Woman?" He coughed and tapped her shoulder. He almost stumbled on his butt when he saw the chaotically shifting edges of the her eyes, "Gwen?"

"What?" She shook her head and her mask immediately turned back to normal, "I...sorry, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, but..." He gestured to the rooftop covered in broken robots and gliders, "We kinda made a mess. We gonna stay to talk to the cops or something?"

"Nah, there are enough people who saw what was going on. Hopefully they tell them we stopped the bad guy and weren't his partners in crime or something." Peter couldn't tell if she meant that as a joke, "We should probably go while we can. I...I need to think."

"Yeah, sure." Peter was about to jump up into a swing till he saw the discarded lightsaber sitting oh so innocently close to the edge of the roof. Gwen followed his gaze and he swore she smiled under her mask, "Big Star Wars fan?"

"Kinda. Used to watch it with Ned every year." He picked up the lightsaber and clicked the hilt to disable the blade. Apparently he wasn't the only fan.

"That sounds a little more than 'kinda', Spider-Man." She laughed softly. It was nice to hear after what'd happened, "Look, if you're going to take it then hurry up. I don't wanna explain to the police why we're stealing from the crime scene."

"Right..."

He clipped the hard light sword to his belt and followed Gwen back to her apartment. A few of the people below waved and cheered after them, but Gwen ignored them. Peter didn't blame her. He saw some of the newspapers and articles that talked about 'the murderer Spider-Woman', and she had to deal with that for two years non-stop. And then there was the year in prison. He wouldn't exactly be chipper after all that.

They made it back to Gwen's place in record time. Gwen let the suit peel away to expose her casuals while Peter shucked off the gloves and mask with a soft breath. He was exhausted, "Man, Supervillains are really something..."

"There are jerks in every universe. Can't escape em, Pete." Gwen smiled sardonically and took two cans of soda from the fridge and tossed one to him, "But hey, you really held your own back there. I'm impressed. Did Iron Stark train you or something? You fight way better than I do."

"Not really." He took a sip of the soda and coughed. Still too sweet, he was gonna get diabetes at this rate, "Mr. Stark fights with power armor and blasters, so I don't think he knows a lot about the punching and kicking."

"Self-trained, then? Ha, and Cap said that was overrated." She snorted and sat next to him on the couch, "You did way better than when we fought Mysterio. I kinda thought you didn't know how to throw a punch and just used those fancy webs of yours for everything."

"I know how to punch! It's just, well..." He tugged off his webshooters and frowned, "I'm strong. Not sure if I'm stronger than you, but definitely stronger than most people, so I try not to throw any hits in if I can, but robots are fair game...except Vision or Karen."

"Huh...that's actually pretty impressive. Most people's first instinct to someone shoving a knife in their face is to run or start punching."

"Not every purse snatcher deserves to lose most of their teeth, right?"

"Some of them do, but sure, I get that." She flexed her fingers and the white substance danced to her fingertips, "I dunno, for me it's always been hit first and web em up for later kind of gal. That and I can only make so many 'weird and sticky' web jokes before I run out material, so I gotta save em up."

"You know, I'm still hoping you'll let me tinker with your webshooters one of these days. Taking moisture from the air to create webbing...that's amazing."

"God, you're such a nerd." Gwen snorted and bumped her right shoulder to his left, "And no, you're not touching this thing. I don't exactly have a warranty with Ms. van Dyne and if you break this thing I'm gonna have to rely on Venom to do all my webbing for me. Considering the little guy/gal/thing's already eating most of my salary I really don't wanna push my luck."

"You know, you never really explained it. Most you told me was that it was a symbiotic life form." And last he checked no humans were compatible with those. Then again the same could be said about genetically enhanced spiders and teenagers, "Your face during that fight..."

"Ah...yeah, that sometimes happens when I get pissed. Venom's still learning how to deal with emotions, and it didn't help that when I first got it that I was in a...really bad place. Don't worry, it's mostly just freaky looking I know not to go too far."

"So...is it alive? Sapient, I mean, rather than sentient; you'd be surprised how often people confuse that."

"You mean is it like your fembot? No." She waved away his protests that Karen was not and never would be 'his fembot', "It's like...I dunno how to say it. Like a dog, I guess? It reacts to my emotions and learns from it, but if you're asking if it does stuff on its own or it talks to me in my sleep then no, that's not a thing. Maybe it'll do that later? I'll swing across that bridge when I get there."

"Right..." He looked down at the can and set it down on the table. A part of him didn't want to ask and ruin the mood, but he had to, "So...what was up with you earlier? You seemed like you knew Greenie back there."

"Um...yeah." Her face fell and she finished off the last of her soda. She licked her lips and answered slowly, "Uh...I mentioned my friend Harry before, right?" Peter shrugged. Maybe she did, but sometimes it was hard to remember things during that first week of acclimatization, "Me, Peter and him were inseparable in high school. Three amigos. He was there when Spider-Woman 'killed' Peter Parker and he knew the truth, but he still wanted revenge."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning he tried to kill me." She...sounded way too calm about that, "It was a shitty time all around, but I managed to handle it without either of us dying. Before I went to jail I heard Norman got him off on a plea and he didn't do any jail time. And hey, I was happy about that cause I didn't want both of us rotting in a prison cell. I thought he turned things around so when I saw the Green Goblin up there again I thought..."

"That he went back to being a Supervillain." She nodded mutely, "But...it wasn't him?"

"No...I mean, I'm pretty sure." She rubbed her hair with both hands, "I only saw him for like a second, and it was just the upper left part of his head, but I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't Harry. Guy looked way too old, for one, and his eyes weren't the right shade of green. I couldn't have been him."

"You sure about that?"

They weren't alone anymore.

Peter barely saw the figure  _phase up through the floor_  before Gwen was suddenly in front him, one arm stretched across both to hold him back and keep the figure from jumping at looked past the protective limb and blinked when he caught sight of the Japanese teenager standing with her arms crossed a short distance away from them. She didn't have a costume, making do with a dark jacket, spandex pants and running shoes.

She was young, probably the same age as him or Mayday, but Gwen's bent posture made it clear she was a threat of some kind.

"Shadowcat..." Gwen stood up slightly straighter, though her hand remained in front of Peter protectively, "Don't suppose I should bother asking how you found me."

"If you're implying that S.H.I.E.L.D told me where you were, you're wrong. Not about them keeping tabs you, you're absolutely right about that, but thinking I needed them to find you. It ain't exactly like Spider-Gwen's address can't be found on google." Her voice sounded different from what he thought. It sounder older, almost rough in a way, "Besides, you Spiders stink of vinegar."

"Now I know you're making that up."

"Really, I'm fainting from the smell here." She spread her arms wide and gave them both a lopsided smile, "By the way, you can stop being so protective of your boyfriend. I'm not here to carve him up."

"Yeah, well, you fucked over my friend the last time we met. Not exactly keen on you doing it to another one."

"Ouch. I seem to remember us teaming up to stop the thing  _you're_  wearing from going on a rampage using Logan's body." Peter looked at Gwen's back worriedly. So much for the symbiote being harmless, "No, but seriously, if I was here for either of you two I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of saying my hello's first. So can we quit with the third degree? I feel a suspect from Brooklyn 88."

A moment of silence passed till Gwen eventually exhaled and stood up straighter, "...Fine."

"Alright." Her smile widened and she took his discarded soda from the table. She sipped it without a care and turned her eyes to him, "So this must be Spider-Man, huh? Funny, he's smaller than I thought he'd be. You like em young, huh?"

"Ignoring that." Gwen shook her head and got some more cans of soda from the fridge, "Shadowcat, Spider-Man. Spider-Man, Shadowcat. You can make the introductions yourself."

"Uh...sure." Peter held up his hand tentatively, which she accepted without any hesitation. She had gloves on her hands, noted idly, "So...you're a friend of Gwen's?"

"Not...exactly." She sat on the table and crossed one leg over the other, "Little gobby Osborn was a naughty boy so S.H.I.E.L.D sent me and Logan, my sort-of partner, to go grab him. This led to a bit of a conflict of interest between me and Spider-Gwen."

"Meaning we tried to beat the crap out of each other. Emphasis on 'tried' since this was when my powers were on the fritz." Gwen sat next to him on the couch again and threw a can Shadowcat's way, which she caught easily, "So, as much as I'm thu- _rilled_  that you're here, is there a reason for the sudden house call? Cause I was kinda under the impression our team up was a one-and-done kind of thing."

"We would've teamed up again if you accepted Captain USA's deal."

"Yeah, no thanks." Gwen scoffed, "Now seriously, what's the deal?"

"Oh, like you don't know." She rolled her eyes, "You just had a fight with the Green Goblin all over the news, Spider-Girly. The same Green Goblin you let escape the first time and saved the second. Funnily enough, S.H.I.E.L.D isn't exactly happy with domestic terrorists running around willy nilly."

"Really? Coulda fooled me. How are Moon and Castle, by the way?"

"Wouldn't know. Last I checked they're still in prison; I'm doing this mission solo," Shadowcat replied coolly, "If it weren't for you and your boyfriend the body count would've been in the double or triple digits back there. Terrorists are bad enough when they don't have access to power armor and high yield bombs."

"Oh, good, so that's  _not_  normal around here," Peter joked weakly.

"Heh, I like you." Shadowcat smirked at him, "I'm here because, surprise surprise, that's your best friend. If anyone knows where he is it'd be you- and before you ask, his daddy's out of town on a business trip in Malaysia,  _conveniently_  enough. You're the next best thing."

"Thanks for that, but it's pointless - it's not Harry."

"Ah, the lies we say to protect our friends."

"I'm not lying!" Gwen's hold on the soda tightened, "It wasn't him."

"And what's your proof of that?"

"His eyes were-"

"He had wrinkles under his eyes and he was the wrong shade of green, right? Gimme a break." Shadowcat rolled her eyes again, "Lest we forget, Osborn junior's taking some pretty hardcore drugs, which is bound to add some wrinkles. You also fought him in a pretty dark place, no shit his eyes look different. That's what happens when you turn off the lights. If that's your 'proof' then you're not convincing me."

"What if I don't care about convincing you?"

"You'd better, cause S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't care if he's breathing when I bring him back. That's what happens when a guy fucks up his second  _and_  third chance." Gwen stood up and glared down at her. Shadowcat looked up without a care, "So you better tell me where he is right now or I'm gonna have to track him myself, and I might be really frustrated if that happens. Won't be liable for my own actions."

"You damn-"

"You really don't know where he is, do you? Fine, I'm outta here-"

"W-Wait!" Peter stood up and moved between them. Gwen looked a breath away from completely throttling the younger woman, "I don't really know what's going between you two, but Gwen isn't lying - she has no reason to. Even when she thought it was that Harry guy attacking everyone she didn't hesitate to try and stop him, so whoever that guy on the glider was she wouldn't let it stop her."

"And...that matters to me why?" Shadowcat raised a brow.

"Work together. What if this Harry guy really isn't that Green Goblin guy anymore? You'd be putting an innocent person in jail and a Supervillain gets away to bomb another day. If you work together you can stop this guy better than doing it alone. I'll even help." He looked between the two of them, "Besides, you worked together before, right? What's one more team up?"

Gwen and Shadowcat glared at one another briefly before the latter eventually sighed, "My job was to take down Osborn, but you're right, if he ends up being innocent they'll find some way to pin it on me for not 'realizing' that." She crossed her arms, "Alright, here's the deal: we work together to find that crazy asshole,  _whoever_  he is. If I find out it's Osborn then you better not try to stop me. We clear?"

"Yeah...if Harry really went off the deep end then there's really nothing I can do." Gwen let out a frustrated sigh of her own and rubbed her forehead, "I'll talk to Norman when he comes back from his trip. I saved his son's life, he's more likely to talk to me than he is to you. He'll know where Harry is, at least. He has to."

"Fine." Shadowcat wrote down something on a slip of paper and handed it to Gwen, "Call me up when you're ready to dangle Mr. Executive off the top of his building."

"I'm not going to-"

"It was a joke."

Before Gwen could respond, Shadowcat phased through the floor again. Peter stared at the spot where she just was and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "Well...she's something."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Gwen pocketed the slip of paper and practically collapsed back on the couch, "...Hey, thanks for that. If you weren't here I probably would've started punching and I don't think the landlord's much of a fan of Spider-Woman."

"No prob. Least I could do considering all you've done for me." He sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. He half expected the symbiote to lash out at him, but instead the white substance wrapped around his fingers gently, "Uh...does that mean it likes me?"

"I dunno. Again, it doesn't really do the whole talking thing. I like you, so it's probably basing on that." She gave him a sideways smile, "Hey, sorry for being such a downer the past week. It's just...my dad was supposed to wake up for a while now and the more time passes the more I'm starting to lose hope. It's stupid, he's stable and everything, but every time I don't wake up to Dr. Strange calling me about how he's cured now I just get so..."

"N-No need to apologize, I get it. Well, kinda. During those first few months after school I kept checking my phone just waiting for Mr. Stark to call me up for another Avengers mission. I-I know it doesn't compare to waiting for your dad to get better, but..." He licked his lips nervously. He was rambling now, "So, um...you never told me what happened with your dad. Could I or is it..."

"No, it's fine. Well, not  _fine_ , but I can talk about it." She frowned and pressed her hands together, "So I already told you about Matt Murderdock, but I didn't tell you just how much he tried to ruin my life. I don't want to get into all of it, but there was a point where he hired some goon called Rhino with more knuckles than brain sense and he... _beat_  my dad. He survived, but he stayed in a coma."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Yeah, well, at least I can still see him. You can't even do that." She closed her eyes, "I thought that when I got out of prison he'd be alright, but he was still sleeping when I got back. I knew that cause I had parts of Venom keeping watch, but still..."

He almost offered to hug her again, but she beat him to it. Peter almost fell back when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a surprising embrace. He almost expected Betty or Mary Jane to walk in and misunderstand, but they were left on their own. Peter reciprocated the gesture and closed his eyes. One good thing about Aunt May finding out - it made comfort hugs much easier to get when he needed them.

"...Sorry, it's just I've been trying to keep a strong face in front of the girls. Letting it all out is-"

"I understand. Just hug away."

They stayed that way for at least a minute till the moment was suddenly broken by the sudden vibration near his stomach. Gwen pulled back and removed the phone from her middle pocket of her hoodie, "Sorry about that." She opened the message and her eyes immediately widened, "No way..."

"What?"

"It's Dr. Strange, he says my dad's...he says my dad's awake!" She hugged him, but it was quick this time. He didn't even get a chance to hug her back, "Alright, I gotta go. Visiting hours are over, but he said that he'd make an exception for me."

"C-Can I come with?"

He didn't know why he asked, and he almost expected Gwen to say no. Instead she just looked at him weirdly for a second before shrugging, "Sure, but hurry up. I've been waiting over a year for this."

Peter debated on whether to put on the suit (and Karen) before eventually deciding against it - she still need to recharge anyway. He put the mask, gloves and webshooters back on and followed Gwen outside.

He had to admit, seeing Gwen so genuinely  _happy_ was reassuring. She'd smiled and joked before, but there was always something heavy in her words and expression that he couldn't place. Now, seeing her flip and cheer through the air without a care in the world, it made him wonder how anyone could've thought she was the menace that Jameson guy claimed she was.

She shifted back in a nearby alley and waited for Peter to remove the 'disguisey' part of his outfit, "Come on!" She tugged him along to the front desk and practically bounced on her heels as the receptionist waved them through with a friendly 'good luck'. Peter barely saw the rooms they passed through as Gwen dragged him. He didn't mind. At least she was laughing again.

Gwen rushed through the door and stopped when she saw the older man sitting upright on the bed. Peter looked past her and looked over Gwen's dad. He was thin, which was to be expected considering the fact that he was in a year long coma, with a head full of white hair followed by a goatee. He didn't look too old, and Peter definitely saw a few traces of muscle through the gown, but the coma definitely looked like it'd taken its toll.

Gwen didn't care.

"Dad..." She stumbled forward and covered him in an embrace, which he returned to the best of his ability, "Is this real? You're really awake, right?"

"I'm here, Gwen, I'm here..." He coughed and tightened his hold on her, "I...I don't-"

Gwen shook her head, "You don't have to say anything, dad. It's alright now."

Peter smiled and hung back as father and daughter hugged and cried and did their best to talk to one another. For a second he almost thought that Gwen's dad wouldn't notice him, but eventually their eyes met, "So, Gwen...who's your friend."

"Oh...this is Peter. Peter Parker from another dimension, I mean." Her dad raised a brow and she laughed, "I'll explain later, okay? All you need to know is he's stuck here and I'm putting him up for now."

"Y-Yeah. Gwen saved my life, sir. I'd be completely doomed without her." He offered the bedridden man a hand which he took in a surprisingly firm grip, "Please don't lemme bother you. You should talk to Gwen."

"Peter, huh? Guess life's funny that way." He laughed weakly.

He was about to joke back when the door behind them suddenly opened. His head snapped to noise and blinked at the two new figures. The one at front, an older woman with gray hair, was completely unfamiliar to him, but the man behind her made him feel like he'd been punched in the gut. He was older and looked like he put on a few more pounds, but the face was undeniably his.

"Uncle Ben..."

The woman at front saw him first. She stopped, both hands moving to cover her mouth and her face turning as white as a sheet. She knew him, he noted numbly. The man behind her -  _Uncle Ben_  - stopped too, his sullen expression being replaced by a look of wide-eyed shock and surprise.  _Peter Parker's dead here_ , he reminded himself. They shouldn't have seen him.

Gwen was the first to speak, "Uncle Ben, Aunt May..." She stood in front of him again, "Wh-What are you two doing here?"

"W-We came to visit George," The woman -  _Aunt May_  - said, voice soft and almost unheard, "Gwen, what is...how..."

"I...I can explain."

Peter got the feeling this wasn't going to end well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gwen's on the road to recovery now that her dad's awake. Sadly her best friend is on the firing line again and the Parkers just found out about MCU in one of the most awkward ways possible, but hey, at least those can be fixed now that Gwen's not a sad sack anymore. Dealing with Shadowcat's gonna be a bigger pain in the rear end, but what Superhero story's without headbutting heroes?
> 
> I'll be honest, I don't have much clue where the Earth-65 villain plot is going, but that's not really important since it's mostly an excuse for Gwen and MCU to bond and work together as Superheroes more than anything else. I'll still do my best to write it, but unlike Looking Glass I'm not going to be trying to establish rivalries among the heroes and villains.
> 
> The majority of readers are still all for the MCU and Gwen romance, so I'm guessing no one really liked the MCU and MJ date last chapter :P Oh well, what the audience wants they shall receive, so long as it's within reason. More Gwen and MCU interaction next chapter coupled with awkwardness from the Parkers.


	9. One Problem to Another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just watched Spider-Verse :D As expected, it lived up the hype and I particularly enjoyed the three alternate artstyle Spiders of Noir, Peni and Ham. The main three are also pretty good, and the interplay between Miles and Gwen is giving me some ideas for romance. Way better than what Gwen and Miles had in the comics, at least.
> 
> This chapter's pretty short all around. Hopefully the 5k word count is enough for people.

It wasn't going well.

Peter slouched on the seat and gulped nervously. George Stacy had been taken away to be fit into a wheelchair, leaving just the four of them in the room. Across from him Ben and May Parker - not  _his_  Ben and May Parker, he reminded himself - sat together, holding to each other's hands while Gwen paced in-between them. She looked troubled, far more troubled than he'd ever seen her. She bit her lip and walked in circles, eyes shifting between him and Ben and May. She looked like she wanted to swing out and forget the whole thing.

He wanted to do the same.

Peter grabbed the cup of water with a shaky hand and took a small sip. It'd been ten minutes now and none of them had said a word. It should've been simple. 'He's not your Peter, he's from another dimension'. See? Easy. Just eight words and they could get rid of all this awkwardness.

Yeah, like it'd be that easy.

He took another sip of the water and coughed, "So..." Peter said, the first word ever since his (not) aunt and uncle arrived. All eyes turned to him and he resisted the urge to curl in on himself, "Uh...hey."

He cringed.  _Hey_? What next?

Gwen covered her face with hands and groaned, "Oh my God..." she said, her words muffled. It was one of the few times he'd seen her speechless and, to be completely honest, it scared him, "This is not how this was supposed to go."

"Then how is this supposed to go? What is 'this' even?" Unc- uh,  _Ben_  said, his expression cross between shocked and livid, "You...after everything that's happened it was so difficult to even think about coming here, and now there's..."

He didn't - couldn't - finish. Peter frowned and looked down at the floor. He hated the idea that he was the cause of this. He knew the story, knew that Ben Parker blamed Gwen for the death of their Peter because he had  _no one else_  to blame.  _It was just a horrible mistake_ , Gwen had said, but he knew that a lot of the time people always had to make it  _someone's_  fault.

And in Ben Parker's eyes, it was either Gwen's fault or his dead nephew's. It wasn't hard to see why he decided it was hers.

"Ben..."

(Not) Aunt May put a hand atop his. Looking closer now he definitely saw a resemblance to the May he remembered, but she had years (decades?) ahead of her. More wrinkles with her hair cut shorter and gray to boot. He was suddenly reminded of her quip about aunts coming in all shapes and sizes.

Seeing her brought all the worries back to the surface. How long till he could go home? How much home was even left? It'd been a while since the Web Warriors came back with any new information and it was beginning to keep him up at night. What if they'd gotten hurt? What if what happened to him, Ham and Noir happened to all of them when they opened the portal again? He didn't want them to die just so he could find a way back.

"We talked about this. You know it wasn't Gwen's fault what happened," May said softly.

"I..." Ben looked away in frustration.

"It's fine. Part of it is," Gwen said softly.  _It's not_ , he wanted to shout, but he held back. It wasn't his place, "I don't expect you to forgive me, Un- Ben. I don't. Just...don't blame any of this on Peter. He's as much a victim in all this."

"Peter..." Both Ben and May flinched at the name.

"I, uh, go with Ben Reilly here i-if that helps." He cringed and said his next words in a rush, "I-I'm sorry!"

"Sorry? For what?" May looked at him in confusion.

"I...sorry!"

"You're not making any sense, Peter." Gwen let out a strained breath, "None of this is your fault, so apologizing doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, but-"

"But  _nothing_. I took you in, I should've figured this would happen sooner or later." She pursed her lips briefly and turned back to Ben and May, "Alright, I'm going to try and explain this as best I can. First thing we should make clear right now is that he isn't... _our_  Peter. He's...He's still gone." Her voice had gone soft at the end.

"Gone? Then who's..." May gestured to him shakily.

"I...that's a bit harder to-"

Peter jumped up and stuck himself to the ceiling. Ben and May looked up, eyes wide and mouths agape. Peter did his best to smile, "I'm, uh...I'm Spider-Man. Back where I'm from." They didn't say anything. He let himself hang for a few more seconds and eventually landed with a small crouch, "That, uh, probably wasn't much of an explanation, huh?" Still nothing. Gwen facepalmed between them, "Well, you see-"

"He's from another dimension," Gwen interrupted in exasperation. It was better than her previous nervousness, at least, "Look, I know that sounds crazy, but it's the truth. He's from another dimension and then he got trapped here because-"

"Enough. I...that's enough. I'm done."

Ben stood and left without another word, May following after him hesitantly. It was brief, but the look of hurt on Gwen's face was unmistakable. She didn't talk about the Parkers much, but the few times she did it was clear that the wound was deep. They'd been there for her since she was a kid.  _They were family_ , she'd said,  _like the aunt and uncle she never had_. He was lucky. May was mad at first, but she never rejected him.

"...Fuck." Gwen sat on the bed and covered her face with both hands again.

"Gwen..."

"Guess I should've seen this coming," she said bitterly, "Things were getting better for a second there. Harry didn't actually go off the rails and dad woke up, so of course the universe decided 'shit, we gotta ruin Gwen's life again! It's been like two days since she got crapped on!'" She clenched her fists, fingers sharpening into claws again.

"...I'm sorry."

"For God's sake,  _stop apologizing_. This isn't your fault. It's-"

"Not yours either." He sat next to her and held both her hands with his, ignoring how close the sharpened tips were to cutting skin. She looked him in the eyes, "You didn't tell them, so what? What were you supposed to do, call them up, talk about the weather and then say you had an alternate dimension version of your best friend crashing at your place?"

"...Maybe." Her smile was soft and strained, but it was a smile nonetheless. He'd take it, "I just...I didn't want them to find out this way; they deserve better." She bit her lower lip, "I thought that after dad got better I could actually make some headway to fixing that bridge, you know? I know Uncle Ben's pissed at me, but Aunt May...she knew I was Spider-Woman for a while now and she told me that it was just her grief and fucking Jameson that pushed her to blame me. I thought Uncle Ben could've..."

"I get it. You don't have to explain."

She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his, her breaths slow. Peter followed her lead and closed his eyes too. She was trying not to cry, to not break down in front of him. He wanted to tell her that he didn't have to put up a strong front, that she could lean on him the same way he'd leaned on her for the past few weeks. She didn't have to be Spider-Woman - confident, unflappable and in control - all the time.

Instead he just kept quiet and let her soft breathing lull him into a sense of calm.

He'd focused so much on the rythm that he almost didn't hear the footsteps. Peter just barely pulled his face back by the time May re-entered the room. She blinked and looked down at their intertwined hands. For a second he thought Gwen would push him off and make some hasty explanation about not being what it looked like. Instead she kept a tight grip even as May sat across them.

"Aunt May, I...didn't think you'd come back."

"I...I wanted to apologize for Ben." She held up a hand to cut off Gwen, "Yes, I should apologize, don't try to deny it. What happened to Peter wasn't your fault and you held that burden for years. It's not fair that he can't see this for what it is and insists that someone's to blame."

"Don't worry, I get it."

May took a deep breath and said her next words slowly, "That doesn't make it better. So...give me a couple of days and then please come over to our house for dinner. Him...Peter too."

"Are...Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"We were going to invite you when we arrived. We just forgot in all the...excitement." Her eyes flickered over to Peter, "I'm sorry about this. It must be difficult, being here."

"N-No."  _Yes_ , "I-I mean, it could be worse. If Gwen and the others weren't here I'd be out on the streets. So...yeah, could be worse."

"...You're so different from him."

He didn't know if May meant for anyone else to hear her. Before he could respond May left the room, leaving him alone with Gwen again. He was suddenly aware of how sweaty his palms were, "...Guess I'm being thrown a bone. Or a fly on a web. I prefer bone." She smiled and untangled their hands, the now-blunted tips dancing across his palms soft enough to tickle. Was it just his imagination or were her cheeks red?

"Are you okay?"

"Come back to me in a couple of days and we'll see." She laughed under her breath and stood, arms stretching above her head. He looked away and coughed when her shirt rode up to expose some of her belly, "Hey...thanks."

"For what? I kinda just made things awkward by being here..."

"First, not your fault." She pushed his forehead with her pointer finger and smiled softly, "Second, don't question my thanks. Isn't there a saying about that back in your place?"

"I...don't think so? Then again, our sodas aren't made of pure sugar."

"Yeah, it's just made of that weird artificial stuff. Corn syrup, I think. What, your cigs filled with make-up tobacco too?"

"No, that's dumb."

"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes, her smile widening. He found himself smiling back, "Listen, dad's gonna get prepped for his physical therapy and I wanna be there for him. Could you swing off for a bit?"

"Sure. Call me if anything happens, okay?"

"Course."

* * *

The next two days passed by quicker than he thought and soon enough they stood in front of the Parker house. Peter tugged at the collar of the loaned dress shirt and gulped nervously, trying to ignore the drops of cold sweat that ran down his neck. The last time he'd put on a suit was prom. A part of him wondered if Mysterio or the Goblin guy would open the door once they knocked.

At least he wasn't alone.

Having Gwen and her dad with him was expected enough, not so much Mayday and Noir. Peter gave them a sideways glance. Mayday looked cool and confident in her red casual dinner dress. Not so much Noir in a similarly loaned suit; he looked more like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

It was Gwen's idea. They had to convince Uncle Ben and what better way than showing off another Peter and his possible future daughter? Aunt May apparently agreed. Personally he didn't think it was a good idea, but he was pretty new to the whole dimension traveling thing so what did he know? If nothing else it'd take most of the attention off of him, which was just fine by him.

"Everybody ready?" Gwen asked.

All of them gave a variation of yes (except for Noir who grunted and earned a glare from Gwen) and Gwen rang the doorbell. It only took a few seconds for May to open the door, "Oh, you're here." She scanned over all of them quickly and her smile twitched. If Peter didn't have super senses he doubted he'd notice, "Ben's helping me with the turkey. Come in, come in!"

They stepped inside and Mayday said, "A turkey? Don't tell me Thanksgiving is wonky here too."

"No, no. We just wanted to celebrate George coming back."

"There was no need to make a fuss, May," Gwen's dad said. He was still in a wheelchair. A year in a coma meant it'd be a while before he was walking on crutches, let alone on his own two feet again.

"Why do you guys keep acting like this place is some kind of weird karaoke version of your places?" Gwen asked as they neared the couch.

"Because it is? Seriously, the shows are all named differently, all the heroes had surgery and the drinks are all messed up," Mayday said.

"The lights don't help." Noir grunted, "Every time we go to this place I get a headache. Wonder who the chucklehead was who thought neon had to be plastered at every street and building."

"So sorry we have more colors than black and white here, Noir." Gwen rolled her eyes.

Gwen's dad went with May to the kitchen - to help ease Ben into it, or so May said -, leaving them alone in the living room. Mayday looked around the comfy domicile and muttered under her breath. Was it familiar to her?

"Huh..." Peter's eyes were drawn to the pictures on the wall and his breath stilled. It was him. Peter Parker of Earth-65. Peter walked closer and peered up at the family picture. Ben and May looked different - happier - which was the exact opposite of the teenager between them. He smiled, sure, but it was obviously strained and forced. Anyone else would've just considered it teenage angst. He wasn't sure.

There was another picture close by. Just him alone with the hood of his Spider-Woman jacket pulled up. This time his smile was more genuine,  _"Peter...used it for something else. He was tired of being bullied, tired of being unable to fight back and...and he wanted to be special."_ That's what Gwen told him. He admired Spider-Woman - Gwen - because he was in love with the idea of her. The power to fight back against the bullies, the freedom to do what he wanted.

"So that's him, huh?" Peter jumped up slightly at Noir's voice. The Spider to his left looked at the picture and frowned, "...Guess I see why this is a problem. You look just like him."

"I-I do?"

"Sure. Change the glasses and the hair, but you're definitely Peter Parker."

"Did you...look like that? When you were younger, I mean."

"I guess. Didn't get as much to eat and the poundings on the street left more bruises, but sure."

"Hey, hey! No angst!" Gwen cut in, getting between him and Noir, "We're going to have a nice dinner  _without_ anyone here going on a tangent about how growing up means being a cynical prick,  _Noir_." She glared up at him. Noir clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, "Now, remember what I said: no talking about work unless someone really asks and/or it feels appropriate. Talking about Earth-69 is not good dinner conversation."

"You're the one who keeps bringing it up, Stacy." Noir's cheeks actually turned red, as did Mayday's behind them, "You could've gotten some of the others here, you know."

"Pfft, like you wanted to stay back there with Peni jabbering," Mayday smirked, "She was driving you insane. Why not just admit you wanted to come?"

"Hah...up yours, May."

It took a few more minutes before they were called into the kitchen. On the bright side Ben didn't look like he was going to turn and walk away the second he saw them. On the not so bright side, he hadn't said a word at all when they sat around the table. Peter dug into the turkey and tried to ignore the awkward feeling hanging over the air. This wasn't off to a great start.

"S-So, what do you two do? Jobs, I mean," Peter said in a rush.

"Oh. Well, I work as a nurse," May said.

"O-Oh, yeah. Mine too." He paused, "U-Uh I mean, my Aunt May! W-Well, I don't actually call her Aunt May. She says it makes her feel old and I think she was just joking about that but I still just call her May and-"

Peter jumped up in his seat when Gwen suddenly pinched his left leg, "Okay, Pete, I think they get it." Noir sighed while Mayday looked torn between following his lead or just breaking down into laughter.

"So, she's a nurse too? What's she like?" May asked.

"Uh...it's hard to say. She's Aunt May." He shrugged, "She, uh, looks different, I guess. I-I actually have a picture here." He fished out the phone from his pocket and scrolled through the pictures. He hadn't actually shown anyone any of the pictures he had despite Betty's prodding. Mostly cause it took him a while to even get a charger that he was reasonably sure wouldn't blow his phone up."

He scrolled through the phone till he found a decent picture, "Here." He put it at the center of the table. It was nothing special, just a picture of him with May hugging him from behind, but it helped comfort him in his time here.

The reactions were instantaneous.

Gwen nearly spat out her drink. She coughed and set down her glass, "Th-That's Aunt May? Your Aunt May"

"Uh...yeah?"

"You sure's she's not your big sister?" Mayday asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure!"

"She looks so...young." That was Ben! He actually talked! Hooray for his weirdly young aunt!

"Well, you know, aunts come in all shapes and sizes." Peter shrugged.

"Yeah, but...seriously?" Gwen gave him a flabbergasted look, "How old is she?"

"Uh...last I checked, she was 54."

"Um, bullshit?"

"Gwen!" her dad said.

"What? Just look at her! She does not look 54!" Peter was tempted to pull the phone back. Why were they so interested in his aunt? He was 17, did they expect her to be old enough to be his grandmother? "God, and you guys say  _my_  dimension's weird."

The flippant comment was a sobering reminder of their current circumstances. Peter awkwardly took the phone back while Ben looked down at his plate of nearly untouched food. He suddenly spoke up before anyone could say anything, "How old are you?"

"Me? I-I'm 17," Peter said.

"17..." He turned his gaze to Noir, "And you?"

"24. Neither of us are like Stacy, sad to say," Noir crossed his arms, "...Let's get down to brass tacks. Stacy thought if she brought us here it'd help you see what the deal was. And hell, it's not exactly easy for the two of us either."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know?"

"Noir, I don't think that's-"

"Ben Parker's dead for both of us," Noir said, cutting off Mayday's warning.

A sobering silence settled over the room. A sudden chill swept through Peter's entire body at the look of shock and disbelief on Ben's face. He was suddenly reminded of just how similar he looked to his own passed uncle. More wrinkles, sure, but he was still tall and strong like the one he remembered. Peter would've been lying if he said seeing him again didn't hurt, but to say it out loud like that...

"...Dead." Ben said eventually, "For both of you?"

"Y-Yeah." Peter nodded. _His fault_ , the self-loathing part of him said. Back then he'd gotten so high on his powers that he thought stopping a mugger was beneath him. A bad thing that happened because of him, because of something that he could have stopped.

"He's part of the reason we put on the mask. The guilt keeps us up at night," Noir said, "Same deal with Stacy and your kid."

"M-Maybe I don't have any right to say this, but...please stop blaming Gwen," Peter stood up, "I don't know exactly what happened, but Gwen loved your Peter. The way she talks about him...if she could've saved him, traded her life for his, she'd do it. You  _know_  she would. So please...please stop blaming her. Having you hate her, it hurts. You're her family too."

"I..."

"Gwen doesn't deserve the blame," Mayday said, "Please. I had a friend who was the same way. He looked for someone to blame because of a tragedy and I was barely able to pull him back from the brink. It's hard not having someone to blame or point to and say 'that's the bad guy', I know that, but you  _know_  Gwen's innocent. She wouldn't have shouldered the burden for years if she really was the unrepentant the murderer everyone accused her of being."

"Please, Ben-"

"I know." Peter shut his mouth, the plea still at the tip of his tongue. Gwen's dad looked like he wanted to cut in as well, "Seeing her on trial, treated like a monster because people were scared...I knew was wrong, but what else was I supposed to do? I spent so long thinking about Spider-Woman being brought to justice for Peter's death that I couldn't just let go. Finding out Peter was the Lizard-"

"Don't call him that. Please," Gwen said, standing up next to him, "What happened was a mistake. Peter was angry and he lashed out, but that doesn't make him some kind of irredeemable monster."

"Hey, if you really need someone to blame then I'd focus on the bullies who made drove him to that then put up tears at the funeral. I'll help if you want some payback." Noir said. It was scary how much he wasn't sure if the older Spider was joking or not.

"That's not helping," Gwen glared at him halfheartedly.

"Just a suggestion."

Ben let out a soft breath and looked up at Gwen, "...I'm sorry," he said, the words soft and barely heard, "I know it's not your fault, but...it was hard. I wanted to apologize back in the hospital, but seeing...him with you just brought it all back. I didn't want to believe you when you mentioned other dimensions. Now..." He looked at Mayday and Noir, "I guess you were telling the truth."

"Yeah...I'm done lying." Gwen pulled him up into an embrace, which he didn't hesitate to return. Peter smiled at the look of utter relief on Gwen's face. She deserved it after everything, "It's...I know it's going to be hard, going back to the way things were, but could we try?"

"I...I'd like that, Gwennie."

Dinner went far better after that. Gwen dug into the turkey heartily and listened to the the others chat about whatever. Seeing her dad and Uncle Ben talking again relieved her more than she thought. It was like she was 15 again and they were having another one of their weekly dinners.

They even had (a) Peter with them.

Her eyes flickered ever to Pete. He was laughing at something Noir said, his smile bright and a bit of gravy at the side of his mouth that May offered a napkin for. He really did look like her best friend, but that was where the resemblance ended. She loved Peter, but she would be the first to admit that he preferred solitude and getting him to smile without looking like he just stubbed his toe was like pulling teeth.

Pete was warmer. More open. It was...nice.

"Hey, I gotta go wash up. Could you show me where?" Mayday asked softly.

"Huh? Oh, sure." She stood up and led Mayday to the living room, "Bathroom's over-"

Mayday suddenly grabbed her arm and tugged her outside, shutting the door behind her quietly, "We need to talk." She looked around briefly and let go of her arm.

"Yeah, I'll say..." Gwen rubbed her wrist, "What is it?"

"What I'm about to tell you stays between us, okay? Don't tell Peter. Swear it."

"What? But-"

"Swear. It."

"Alright, alright! I swear!" She raised both hands in surrender.

"Good." She walked further till they were on the sidewalk, Gwen following behind her nervously, "Me and a few of the others visited Peter's home. It...It wasn't good."

"Just how 'not good' are we talking about here?"

"'Half the universe is dead' not good." Mayday's expression was grim, "I mean we could be wrong, but even if it wasn't exactly half it doesn't really matter. The place was tearing itself apart. Looting, infrastructure's barely holding together, rising death toll. We couldn't even do much searching for anyone because of how chaotic everything was. It's  _not_  good."

"Y-Yeah, I got that." Gwen gulped nervously, "So...what do we do?"

" _You_  are not doing anything except staying here and making sure Peter doesn't go insane." Mayday looked at the door again, "He's already homesick. Finding out about this...it'll break him. We can't let that happen."

"So what, you just want me to lie to him? Pretend that everything's okay?"

"No, just...just tell him we're still working on it. Okay? I just wanted you to know so you know what not to say." Mayday rubbed the back of her head and let out a frustrated breath, "We're trying to find May Parker and Iron Man, but it's slow going. The last person we tried to ask about May Parker tried to shoot us and the few people who were willing to talk about Stark said he went to space, so no dice there."

"I dunno about this. Doesn't he deserve to know the truth?"

"I don't like it either, Gwen. Trust me if I had a guarantee he won't go bananas when he finds out I'd tell him myself." She sighed, "That's not the only thing, though."

"Oh, there's more?! Great!" Gwen threw up her hands in frustration.

"Yeah, it's...Karn confirmed it: something's keeping 'Peter Parker' out of that dimension. The only way to make it safe for him to go back is to get that Thanos guy, which isn't exactly easy considering he's lightyears away on the back end of space and the portals don't let us breath up there."

"What are you saying?"

"She means the kid might be trapped here." Both their heads snapped to the new voice and Gwen glared up at Noir. She hated it when he did his creeper bullshit, "I ain't gonna sugarcoat it, Stacy. Chances of us finding a way to get the kid back home are slimmer than a Negro being voted president back home. Even if we do find the big purple bastard I doubt we're gonna be able to off him, not without getting some of those really lucky Spiders that got firebirds to make em stronger."

"So not only is Peter's home going through fucking doomsday but he may or may not be trapped here." She scowled, "What next? Gonna tell me that spider bite gave him cancer?"

"Hey, this isn't exactly pleasant for us either!" Mayday snapped, "We're trying our best here, Gwen. Karn's already looking for more Spider-Men to help us, magic or science or whatever. Just...help us make sure that Peter's going to be alright."

"I still think he deserves to know."

"Then tell him if you want. It's your choice," Noir said, "Me personally I agree with you. Burying your head in the sand never does any good."

"What good will telling him do? He can't do anything to help. All it'll do is make him feel miserable and he might even do stupid stuff to try and get back home." Mayday held her shoulders, "I'm not saying lie to him forever. I'm not. Just...wait for us to come back with something besides 'things aren't good'. Please? I've seen one too many Peter Parkers lose themselves in grief, I don't want another."

"I...I dunno." She shook of Mayday's grip, "Just...Just let me think about it, okay?"

"Sure." Mayday looked down briefly, "...Look, me and Noir should probably go. Have fun with the dinner."

"Yeah..." Gwen waited till they'd portaled out before she forced herself to trudge back to the house. Well,  _this_  wasn't how she thought this night would go. Her worst case scenario was Uncle Ben disowning her, not finding out a friend's home was fucked and he was trapped away from it possibly forever, "Fuck..." She pressed her forehead against the door, took a deep breath and opened it.

Peter was the first to greet her when she got back, "Oh, Gwen! What happened to Noir and Mayday?" There was that bright,  _genuine_  smile again. If she told him now he'd probably never smile again, go down the same lows like when Murdock made her life hell. She'd seen her share of Peter's Parkers lose themselves too.

_Oh God damn it, Mayday. I hate you..._

"Th-They had to take off. Web Warriors stuff." She sat next to him again and smiled, "So...you never told me how the date with MJ went. Come on, give me the dirty details."

"Is this really proper dinner conversation, Gwen?" Her dad huffed.

"What? Considering Pete's track record here I bet they just held hands and talked about their feelings."

"Hey!"

Lying to her friends again. So much for that promise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended on a pretty angsty note there, but that's to be expected considering Endgame isn't exactly starting off like a bucket of roses. Some of you will probably disagree with Gwen's choice at the end, but it's supposed to be a no-win choice. Agree or disagree you can't really deny that she was put in a situation with two impossible choices.
> 
> Anyway, more romance(?) hints between Gwen and MCU at the beginning. Course you could see it as platonic, so really up to you. If nothing else my friend saw Gwen's behavior at the end between the two choices as being more like an older sister/mentor figure than a possible love interest. What do you guys think, romantic or sisterly/mentor?
> 
> I was also planning to add a segment at the end where MJ met Mayday and it's as hilariously bad as Mayday's meeting with MCU. I cut it out to keep the tone intact. Maybe next chapter ;P
> 
> And before anyone worries: no, this is not the end for the Parkers. I know we focused more on Gwen than MCU there, but that plotline has been running for a while in canon. They'll get to know Peter better later.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. Should I give Gwen more POV segments? MCU gets the most perspective chapters and I wonder if readers would want it more balanced to a dual protag thing or just remain with MCU being the primary character.
> 
> 2\. Cross-posted question: For those who read both this fic and Through the Looking Glass (and aren't too biased to either), who has better chemistry with Gwen in the early chapters: Noir or MCU Peter? Kinda wondering if Birds of a Feather or Opposites attract are more appealing to a wider audience.
> 
> 3\. I've gotten comments indicating interest in both MJ and Gwen as romantic interests and drama based on this. So...do people want a love triangle? Cause it seems like some people are all for it, but I have my doubts since Gwen and MJ are close enough that I can't see them arguing over a guy. That and it'd kinda feel odd given the tone of the fic and the adorkable main character.


	10. One Step Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, sorry for the delays. I'm currently preparing for work and my anxiety is acting up again for God knows what reason. Hopefully it'll pass, but until then updating will be a bit harder. Wish me luck.
> 
> Anyway, I've received reviews from people who were apparently worried that I'd turn this fic into a Miles/Gwen romance based on my previous AN. I do want to clarify that by 'ideas' I meant ways for Gwen and Peter to develop, not so much me making this fic swerve into Miles and Gwen. I'm just saying it's helpful, especially since the Gwen I wrote here has more in common with her movie version - she's experienced, knows the ins and outs of heroics and is simultaneously friendly and cold due to her experiences.
> 
> That is of course assuming I don't go for a Peter/MJ pairing, but the chances of that are less likely given the votes.
> 
> Side Note - Check out the fanfic 'Real Folk Blues'. It's a really nice work and it deals with Spider-Man Noir and Peni Parker :D

A week passed. Gwen wanted to say that things worked out for the best and they managed to find a way to get Peter back home, but the truth wasn't as convenient. Apart from a second snacking attempt by the Inheritors, which they'd all mutually agreed to  _never_  talk about again, things passed pretty normally for the most part. More speculation on the new Spider-Man from curious fans, more talks with her dad and more villains that 'just so happened' to be doing their crimes whenever one or both of them was around. Same old same old.

That was until she got a group message on her watch. 'We've topped up on active members and place is looking spick-and-span', it said. Probably from UK; sounded pretty British to her, at least. It was nothing more than a status update and it had nothing to do with their problems, but  _of course_  Betty just had to be there when she got it. After that it was days of non-stop pleading from her about wanting to see the Spider-Lair, and at some point Peter got in on it because he'd gotten stir crazy.

Two of them begging her non-stop? Of course she'd cave eventually. She dared Mayday to say she'd do otherwise.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Gwen looked back at the assembled group. She and Peter had put on their costumes while the rest of the band - including MJ and Glory, who'd roped themselves in - were in their everyday wear. A part of her worried about bringing them along, though that was a weird thought. They were going to a base full of Spider-People; she couldn't think of a safer place.

"Yeppers." Betty grinned.

"Sure thing, Gwencent." Mary Jane gave her a thumbs up.

"Let's just go before Betty explodes," Glory said.

Peter just nodded without a word. Taking a deep breath, Gwen input the coordinates and portal immediately sprung up, covering half the room. Mary Jane and Glory's eyes widened like saucers while Betty bounded on her heels and somehow grinned even more, "Ooh, awesome!" The brunette practically skipped the portal and tapped it with her right hand, "Huh...doesn't feel like anything."

"It's a door, Betts. It's supposed to feel like anything." She almost went through first before another idea popped in her head. Could she get away with it twice? "You first, Pete."

"Uh...sure."

He gave her an unreadable look (masks tended to do that) and stepped through with Gwen following right after. As soon as they were on the other side she stepped close and pressed a finger on his lips through the mask. He stiffened up like a cat that got its tail pulled, "Shh, play along." She grinned and looked back to the portal, "It's all clear, guys! Now get your butts over here and- Oh, oh my god! What is that thing?! Aghhhhh!"

The eyes on Peter's mask widened and he quickly followed through, "Gwen, don't let it grab you! Don't let it- ahhhhh!" Huh...she'd give it a 7 out of 10. Guy was kinda dramatic.

She was about to pop her head through and tell them she was just kidding before Murderface  _flew_ through the portal and attached itself to her head. Gwen screamed, more in shock than pain, and stumbled back, cursing her lazy as all hell spider-sense. Just barely she managed to looked through Murderface and caught all three of her bandmates charing through a portal with MJ actually brandishing her guitar like Red Sonja with her sword.

An awkward silence settled over the group when the threesome realized that Peter and Gwen were not, in fact, being eaten by some kind of Lovecraftian monster. Gwen pulled Murderface off her head and hissed, "...It was a prank, guys." She let the glaring fat fall on his legs and wiped off the fur from her mask, "Did you guys just- MJ, did you seriously run in here planning to play whack-a-spider with your guitar?"

"You two were the ones who started screaming about being attacked!" Glory hissed.

"Yeah, and I didn't think Betty would toss Murderface at me! Speaking of, did you seriously toss Murderface through the portal?!" She knew it was Betty. Neither Glory or MJ would be crazy enough to do that.

"We all agreed that if an inter-dimensional monster attacked he'd be the first line of defense," Betty said shamelessly. She knelt down and draped the grumpy cat over her head again, "And hey, it worked. If you were Cthulhu tentacle thing we totally would've kicked your ass."

"Sure you would..." She rolled her eyes.

"We probably shouldn't have done that," Peter said, like the goodie two shoes he was, "Sorry about that."

"No harm no foul, Tiger." MJ sighed and finally lowered the guitar.

"Done messing around?"

Gwen screamed again and turned to the source of the voice, fists raised, while the rest did the same. Noir stood close by without a single fuck given, arms crossed and disapproval oozing even through his mask.

"Fuck- Noir! Jeez, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Gwen lowered her hands and let out a few more panicked breaths before continuing, "How long were you just standing there?"

"Long enough," he said, unhelpful as always. She had no idea how Mayday dealt with it all the time, "What the hell are you doing here and with...guests?" He looked past her and Peter to the other three. Glory narrowed her eyes and stepped back while Glory gave him an open expression of wonder. MJ just looked curious.

"Got a message from Billy. Thought it'd be nice to check in." She shrugged. Sure as hell sounded better than 'Betty and Peter dragged me into it, "It's not against the rules, is it?"

"You'd have to ask the chief for that. Speaking of, I gotta go see him," He looked past her again and sighed, "Make sure your friend don't break anything."

He stepped past them without another word and turned the corner out of sight. MJ was the first to speak, "Uh...who the heck was that?"

"Spider-Man from Earth-90214 - we just call him Noir. He's Peter Parker under the mask." So were 90% of the other male Spiders. Even some of the female ones, now that she thought about it.

" _That_  was Peter Parker? Yeesh, you weren't lying about how weird alternate dimensions are," MJ said.

"You should see Spider-Betty...actually, better if you don't." She shook her head and led them to the main chamber, pointedly ignoring Betty's far too curious looks. She really didn't want to talk about fashion disaster corset Spider-Woman. She could only hope that Mayday didn't have a meltdown when she saw them. It wasn't hard to see that the younger Spider had more than a little personal investment in Peter Parker not going insane.

Gwen got it, but even days later she couldn't help feeling doubtful about the 'white lie'. She couldn't deny that a part of her was hoping that Mayday had already changed her mind or that she herself would have the guts to fess up to the fib.

The first thing she noticed when they got there was just how crowded the place. Usually she caught maybe half a dozen Spiders milling about with Karn up top, and that was on a good day. Now most of the chamber was filled with pockets of Spider-Men, Spider-Women, Spider-Animals and- was that a Spider- _Buggie_? Gwen gaped and looked again to find that, yes, there definitely was a Spider-Buggie talking to a Spider-Chimp and a Spider-Hippie.

"Woah..." Betty said with awe behind them.

"Yeah, woah..." Glory tightened her hold on her backpack. Gwen had no idea what was inside, "Can't believe the big guy was worried about us touching stuff with everyone here."

The three of them wandered off, Gwen too distracted to stop them. She did another quick scan of the area and blinked at someone else that caught her eye. A Spider-Gwen- er,  _another_  Spider-Gwen. She was young, maybe 15 or or 16 if she had to guess, and she wasn't wearing a mask. A few freckles dotted her cheeks and the right side of her hair was shaved, exposing the darker roots underneath.

Sitting next to her was another Miles. Not the Miles she knew; this one looked young too, probably barely into his teens with bushier hair and a costume that looked like he'd sprayed paint on it. Before she could stop herself she started walking towards them, Peter following behind her quietly. The two noticed their approach and stopped their conversation, the other Gwen looking up at her with a raised brow.

"...Hi," Gwen said after thirty seconds of silence.

"Hi...?" She sounded different from her. She should've known that - Noir and Peter didn't sound alike, after all - but seeing it on herself(?) was odd. Gwen idly took note of more differences like the small gap in the younger her's teeth or the ballet slippers in the place of the usual chucks. Was she a dancer? Her dad tried to get her into it a few years ago, thought it'd curb her hotheaded streak. Clearly it didn't work.

"Uh..." Miles(?) said, looking between the two of them.

"Yeah, what he said," Peter said.

"Ah...sorry, it's just..." Gwen took a deep breath, "I'm just...not used to seeing other Spider-Women. I mean, I am, but they're usually not-"

"Gwen Stacy?" The younger Stacy smirked lazily at Gwen's odd, "Yeah, I get that. I'm pretty new to this whole thing myself and my first run wasn't exactly a walk in the park, 'specially since I had to babysit this dork." She gestured to Miles. There was obvious affection in it.

"Hey, I took of myself!"

"Sure, I mean, after you bounced off a taxi cab."

"You saw that?!"

The two continued their previous conversation. Gwen was suddenly reminded of her own brief team-up with Miles. They'd kissed at the end of it, full of adrenaline and fresh with the knowledge that in at least one future they'd helped established a utopia and even got two kids out of the deal. Looking back on it now it was such a silly thing to think about it. In a lot of worlds she ended up marrying Peter Parker after dating in college, and she didn't think about that too much.

Before she knew it Peter had already joined the two in conversation, "So, you guys were dragged through a dimensional collider and were...what, glitching out?"

"More or less," Other Gwen said, "We also kinda time traveled a bit. Don't ask, cause I dunno how that stuff works. I'm still trying to get used to the whole 'multiverse travel's like taking the bus' thing you guys got going here."

"Still, why the glitching? I mean I've been tr- uh, been staying at Gwen's place for a while now and I haven't had any seizures."

"Uh, I think you're gonna wanna ask Peni about that. She knows the science stuff better than all of us." Other Miles gestured to the other side of the chamber to one of the other pairs Gwen had seen. The first was a little girl who looked maybe 9 or 10 wearing a school uniform. There was something...off about her, but Gwen couldn't place it. Something in her eyes or the way she talked, maybe.

Her companion was equally weird. A giant of a man wearing a billowing trenchcoat. The fact that there was no wind to blow said trenchcoat paled in comparison to the fact that the guy was black and white. Literally, she couldn't see an ounce of color on him.

"Sure, could you introduce me?" Peter asked Miles eagerly.

"No prob." Miles grinned back and went with Peter to the odd duo, leaving the two Gwens alone.

Silence settled over the two again. Gwen sat down and crossed one leg over the other, thinking about what to say. What was appropriate to ask? She wasn't stupid - 9 in 10 of Spiders lost someone and it was the reason they put on the masks. She'd seen Peters who lost Uncle Bens, Aunt Mays, Mary Janes and, yeah, even Gwen Stacys. Was it too much to hope that there was a version of her out there that didn't go through all that?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Other Gwen asked.

"Uh, well..." Gwen took a deep breath and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Nice hair?"

Other Gwen blinked and rubbed the shaved side of her head, "Seriously? That's what you wanna say?"

"Well it was either that or talk about your shoes." She gestured to the ballet flats.

"So we either talk about my hair or my shoes...you're not very good at this, are you?"

Gwen found herself laughing at the blunt question, "Guess not." She laughed again, feeling a little bit of the tension leave, "I'm sorry, it's just...I know I should be used to it, but seeing myself is just so odd. Whenever you see alternate Spiders it's always someone else, you know? You never think it's you or-or another version of you. It's always another..."

"Peter Parker."

The heaviness in the younger girls' voice made Gwen's heart sink, "Yeah...Peter." She took off her mask to breath easier. Even now she had episodes of depression. Cap said it was normal, especially after everything she'd been through, but it didn't stop it from sucking, "I'm gonna take a guess that it didn't end well for you either?"

"Not really." Other Gwen pursed her lips.

"Mine was my best friend." Gwen said. The other girl didn't respond, "...Sorry, I made this weird-"

"No, don't be. It's actually nice to talk about it. Can't do it with everyone else cause, you know, most of them are Peters. Can't talk to Miles about it either; he has his own stuff to deal with." Other Gwen sighed and rubbed her forehead, "He was my best friend too. He was older than me close on 15 years, but still. A lot of people thought it was odd, a guy pushing thirty being friends with a teenager. He always joked that he was the Doc Brown and I was Marty McFly." Her smile was equal parts fond and hurting.

"Mine was the same age. Knew him since I was ten and we were inseparable ever since." She clenched her hands, "He...turned into the Lizard. He was bullied and he was angry and..." And he wanted to be special, "I didn't realize it was him before it was too late."

"Mine...turned too." Other Gwen coughed, obviously uncomfortable, "He and Dr. Connors were working on a formula to give people their limbs back but then their boss at Oscorp decided he wanted to test it on people. Dr. Connors wanted to be the one to do it, but Peter convinced him he was the better choice because...I dunno. Maybe cause he was younger or something. It didn't realize either."

Gwend didn't say anything. She wanted to comfort the other girl, tell her that at least he died doing something selfless, but she knew that it wouldn't help. Not when she held his dying body in her arms.

"I didn't do friends for a while. Didn't want to be distracted, but truth was I was just scared. Miles and the others...they really helped me out." She smiled fondly at Miles. He and Peter were talking animatedly with Peni and the trenchcoat guy she was sure was another Noir, "Guessing it's the same with you and the other Spidey that came with?"

"Huh?" Gwen blinked, "Ah...no, I mean, we're friends, but. Well, it's kind of a long story. Long story short something majorly bad happened in his dimension and now he's stuck in mine, at least till we can fix it."

"Guessing that's why he was interested about the glitching," Other Gwen said. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, "Something's up with you two, isn't there?"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"I dunno, just a hunch." Other Gwen shrugged, expression passive. Something told her the younger girl was used to keeping a poker face, "The way you're looking at him...something's got you worried. Wanna talk about it? I mean, who better than yourself, right?"

"Ugh, I've heard that joke  _way_  too many times." Gwen rolled her eyes and straightened her posture. Still, she definitely had a point, "You've had to lie before, I'm guessing." Every Spider lied. To their friends, their families, to the world. Gwen didn't lie so much nowadays with her face plastered on billboards and people calling her Spider-Gwen. Some days she couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.

"Comes with secret identity and people not knowing you were there when your best friend died," Other Gwen replied coolly, "Why? What's the fib?"

"Ah...shit, this is hard." Gwen clicked her tongue, "You know what they say about ignorance being bliss-"

"Gonna stop you right there. If your dad's anything like mine then he likes pulling the philosophy out first and you picked it up." Gwen winced. She wasn't  _wrong_ , "Just tell me, alright? I'm not gonna judge you."

"Okay, so if something bad happened to the people you care about you'd wanna know, right?"

"What kind of bad are- no, you know what, dumb question cause same answer either way: I'd wanna know." Gwen didn't say anything. She couldn't disagree, "If someone's gonna punch me in the face I'd rather see it coming. If I didn't I'd be trying to find a way to turn off my spider-sense."

"Sometimes mine doesn't warn me. Don't know why, just doesn't," Gwen mumbled.

Other Gwen blinked, "And that's normal?"

"Yep. Can't even tell you how many times I've been hit or had a grenade blow up at my feet." Thankfully she could take some hits. Octavia even theorized that her weaker spider-sense might've been compensation for being more durable than the average Spider-Person, "And yeah, you got a point. Every time I didn't get a warning I'd always end up getting pissed off."

"So it's not fair that you're doing it to Spidey," Other Gwen said. No judgement, just stating a fact.

"Yeah..." Gwen took a breath and clenched her hands, "It's just...it's hard, you know? I mean when my dad found out about who I was, I thought I'd get a heart attack." Though maybe that had more to do with the fact that he had a gun to her face, "I spent the next couple of days thinking about how he'd react. The whole Inheritor BS actually felt like a good distraction."

"I haven't told my dad, but...I'm planning to," Other Gwen said, "Like I said, I can't judge you. I dunno what you're hiding from him, but whatever it is I wouldn't sit on it too long. The guy clearly trusts you, you don't want to lose that."

"No, I don't." Gwen nodded and smiled slightly, "Thanks. It's...nice to talk to..."

"You?" The younger girl gave her an open mouthed smile, "Yeah, you too. I mean, you're not the first Spider-Gwen I've ran into, but hey."

"There are others?" Gwen blinked, "Was one of them married with two adorable 12 year olds?"

"Uh...no, don't think. One of em had longer hair with pink tips." Other Gwen tugged at her hair quickly, "Another one was really into science and apparently didn't wear a mask; dunno what that was about. There's another one here with some kind blob thing on her- she's over there."

The younger Spider gestured to another corner of the chamber. Gwen followed her hand and found another Spider-Gwen, closer in age to herself, with what looked like a jet black baby snake jutting out of her shoulder. She was wearing a Venom suit, she realized quickly. A different kind of Venom, but she'd seen enough of them around to know one when she saw it. Judging by the way it bobbed its head she'd guess it could talk, or at least pretend to.

She was tempted to go over there before she caught the person she was talking to. She couldn't see his face from underneath the jacket or the mask, but she definitely saw the gun he was holding. Gun _s_  plural, actually. She almost missed the ones on his thigh holsters. The other Spider-Gwen seemed to have no issue with the guns said Spider was holding or the fact that he was still masked.

Yeah...she'd stay far away from that. Noir was bad enough on his own.

"Well, thanks." She smiled at the younger Gwen and made her way to where Peter was. Miles was gone, probably went off to another group, but the dynamic duo were still there. It was only when she got closer that she realized just how tiny that girl was. She looked like she barely came up to Other Noir's waist and she had to stand on a nearby chair to be on closer level to the other two Spiders.

"Hey, Gwen!" Peter grinned and waved for her to come closer. His mask was off, "Lemme introduce you. This is Peni and this is Peter, but apparently everyone calls him Benjamin."

"Helps to keep things organized." Other Noir said. He definitely sounded different from what she expected. Other Gwen sounded different, but she was younger. This one...well, actually she didn't know how old he was considering the mask, "We're all different kinds of Spiders cut from the same weave. Pain, anger, we carry the weight of our guilt with us every day."

"Um...what?" Gwen asked blankly.

"You know it too. Your costume's bright, but the darkness that we all live with can't be hidden forever," he continued, still as dramatic.

"Again, what?" Gwen looked at him with an unreadable expression. Was this really supposed to be another Noir? "...I'm gonna regret asking, but...where's that wind coming from?"

Peter cringed, "Gwen, don't-"

"Wherever I go the wind follow...and the wind? It smells like  _rain_."

...What. The. Fuck.

"Are you serious?" Gwen barely kept herself from falling into a laughing fit.

"Serious as corruption is endemic, Spider-Woman." He crossed his arms when she actually did laugh at that, "You think it's funny, don't you?" We don't all got fancy dimensions with rock and roll. Some of us end up on the ground, mud on our face and feeling like a disgrace-

"Kicking your can all over the place?" she asked sarcastically. All three of them gave her blank looks, "Uh...sorry, it's a song lyric I remember."

"Ain't no song I ever heard before..." Other Noir muttered.

"Sorry about that. Gwen and her oldie songs are just too much for us younger folks." One thing she noticed after he'd gotten used to being away from home - Peter had a tongue on him.

"Hey, watch it, young man! I co-own the roof where you're staying!" Gwen threatened playfully.

"Sorry, sorry!" Peter grinned and held up both hands in mock surrender.

Other Noir scoffed, "I don't see the joke in the tragic endings all us Spiders will-"

Peni slapped the big guy's arm, "Don't mind him! He's kinda overdramatic!" The girl's voice was high.  _Young_. Gwen was more than a little disturbed at how someone so young was hanging around here, "So you're another dimension's Spider-Woman, huh? It's nice to meet you!"

"Uh, likewise." The younger girl shook her hand enthusiastically, mouth open in an infectious grin, "So...uh, where's your costume? I mean, the uniform's not exactly...you know."

"Oh, my mech's back home. He took some damage from our last adventure and I'm fixing him up." Mech? Wait, Peni- oh! She was an alternate version of...Gwen shook her head. This one looked way different from the one she knew, "I came here to help Octavia and Pavitr tweak their watches to work better. With any luck we'll be able to do more than just send messages and SOS."

"Still can't believe you're from the year 3145," Peter said, a little jealous, "The tech you guys have must be insane!"

"You're pretty lucky too! I mean, you already have an on-suit AI! It took us till 2569 to rediscover AI ever since the machines rose up."

"Excuse me, the machines what now?" Gwen asked worriedly.

"Oh, don't worry! I'm sure your dimension will be fine! And if not then...well, you'll probably be gone by the time the uprising happens." Was she the only one creeped out that the girl was still smiling? "Anyway, me and 99 were talking about his dimension?"

"I'm sorry, 99?" Gwen asked.

"He's from Earth-19999, so 99. I'll think up a better nickname later," Peni said, "Anyway, we were actually talking about the glitching. See, dimensional glitching happens when you go to a dimension and it realizes you don't belong there. So it's like you're a virus and the dimension's white blood cells try to get rid of you. Takes a few days for the effects to kick in, but it happens eventually."

"So what about it?"

"According to Peni's research the person who goes through glitching isn't considered part of the universe," Peter said. Gwen just looked at him blankly, "Don't you get it? The reason I can't go back is because 'Peter Parker' got dusted by that big Thanos guy. But, what if I wasn't 'Peter Parker'? If I was a glitch then I could go in there and check up on how things are going. I'll have a few days, at least."

"Huh...maybe-"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Mayday's voice suddenly cut in. All four of them turned to look at the new arrival and Gwen cringed at the all too forced smile the teenager sported, "The reason you guys got pulled through was because of an imperfect portal. We don't even know what effects that has, so maybe hold off on trying to make an entire plan of doing something deliberately bad?"

"But-"

"We'll get you home as soon as we can, okay?" Mayday said, cutting Peter. Gwen clenched both hands tightly. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either, "Just be patient, please? You're the first Spider that's dealing with this kind of thing. Well, second, but the other one didn't turn to dust when he got back home."

"I..." Peter bit his lower lip and looked away, "I get it-"

"Mayday, can I talk to you for a sec?" Gwen didn't give the other Spider a chance to answer before she grabbed her shoulder and walked her a far enough distance that they wouldn't be overhead.

Mayday shook off her hand and glared at her, "What are you doing here? I thought-"

"I didn't come here for that, but...maybe I should've." Gwen crossed her arms, "Look, Mayday, I get why you're doing this, but don't you think he deserves to know the truth?"

"It'll just hurt him."

"And being clueless is better?" Mayday didn't reply, "I know how much it hurts to know something and not being able to do anything. I went to prison for a year, for god's sake. Do you know how frustrating it was knowing that it was because people were scared of me and I couldn't do anything about it? That it didn't hurt knowing my dad might never wake up again while I was in there? But looking back on it I'd still have preferred knowing than being lied to."

Mayday's fierce expression melted away and was replaced with a look of utter vulnerability, "I...I know that..." She closed her eyes and covered both with her right palm, "Noir told me the same thing. I know that it's wrong, but...could we really tell him? Tell him that he might've lost all of his friends and family? That his world, his entire universe, is in some kind of death spiral and he can't even help?"

"I'll do it. I'm the one whose been looking out for him, I think it'd be better if he heard it from me." Gwen raised her right hand and awkwardly put it on Mayday's left shoulder, "...Sorry for putting it all on your shoulders. I should've been helping you guys with it."

"It's fine." Mayday let out a shaky breath, "Sorry for putting you on the spot a week ago. I just...I saw how happy he was and I just thought that taking that away from him would've been cruel."

"I get that, but...he's not a kid. He's Spider-Man, and he's just like us. None of us put on the mask because we wanted to pretend nothing was wrong. We did it because we saw the people that needed help and we put our foot down and offered them a hand when no one else could."

"Haha...that's so sappy, Gwen."

The younger Spider suddenly embraced her. Gwen immediately reciprocated the gesture and smiled back at Peter's questioning gaze from across the chamber. Mayday's acceptance had removed most of her doubts.

The hug lasted for a few more seconds before the pair eventually separated. Before either of them could say anything another voice cut in, "Yo, Gwencent!" MJ walked towards them with a grin on her face and Mayday  _froze_. They'd all gotten used to alternate Peters, even some of the daughters he had running around. Alternate MJ's were far rarer.

"Hey, MJ. What's up?" Gwen asked, trying her best to be casual. Mayday was still frozen stiff.

"Nothing much. Betty's with that talking car - I think she's convincing it to come back with us - and Glory's looking over by the history Spiders. Wanted to see what you were up." The redhead's eyes shifted to Mayday, "Who's your friend?"

"Uh...this Mayday." Gwen nudged her forward, "We were just...chatting."

"Huh, well, nice to meet you." MJ smiled and offered the teenager a hand.

The brunette stared at the gesture for a few seconds before another nudge from Gwen made her accept, "Uh, y-yeah, you too!"

...Why was she getting a bad feeling? Shaking her head, she left the two to whatever conversation they planned to have and went back to Peter, "Need to talk to you." He nodded, still mostly looking to MJ and Mayday, and followed Gwen back to the hall. She wanted to be alone for this.

It was only when she was sure that it was just the two of them when she finally spoke, "I...have some news about your home."

To her surprise, his expression was already pretty grim, "I'm guessing that it's not good news?"

"Yeah..."

Gwen told him everything Mayday told her: half of all life gone, heroes scrambling to keep things stable, Aunt May still MIA and possibly part of the unlucky half. He didn't cry or scream or rage at her. He just sat there, listening and giving the occasional nod to show that he was paying attention. With every word that came out her stomach sank more and more, but she continued on. He deserved to know the truth.

"So...we really did lose," he said eventually, voice barely above a whisper.

"...I'm sorry." There was nothing else she could say.

"It's not your fault. I...I'm glad you told me." He took a deep breath and pursed his lips.

"I...I knew about it a week ago, but we couldn't tell you.  _I_  couldn't tell you," Gwen said slowly, "I'm sorry I waited so long to say something; that wasn't my place. I get if you were angry at me. I just-"

For the second time that day Gwen was caught in another sudden embrace. Peter's hold was tighter, more desperate, than Mayday's, and she couldn't do much more than slowly reciprocate the gesture. He was crying now. Even if she couldn't feel the tears through the suit the way his shoulders shook and the quick, gasping breaths made it all the more clear.

They just stood there, Peter sobbing while she tried her best to comfort him. She didn't know how much time passed before his breaths eventually calmed and he stepped away, eyes still red and puffy.

"...I'm sorry," she said again.

"Thanks." He nodded and wiped away what little tears stayed, "I...I guess I kinda always knew that bad things would've happened. I mean, when I tried to go back home I nearly died again, so I wasn't exactly expecting things to be good when I got back. It's just..." He shook his head, "Nothing. Finding out it's true, it's bad, yeah, but now at least I'm not questioning it."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, not really, but...I'm  _not_  giving up. Dr. Strange still said it was the only way, so I'm thinking that this isn't the end. He wouldn't have given up the time stone thing if there was no way to fix things. He made that clear." His expression shifted to something more determined, "And I'm still here. There's a reason I didn't die, there has to be. Maybe it's cause I'm supposed to help with whatever they're going to do."

"Well whatever it is you can count on me being there. The rest of us too; every Spider's gotta stick together."

"Haha...thanks, Gwen."

It was only seconds later that Gwen realized just how close they were. Their faces were just inches apart and from here she saw every detail - the scruffy brown hair, the small smile and even the dimple on his chin. He looked so much like the Peter she remembered, but he was different in just as many ways. The way he laughed, the way he joked to try and make everyone else laugh too. Her Peter was always so quiet, so...

Their eyes met for a brief moment and Gwen quickly stepped back with Peter doing the same, "Well...I'm glad you're alright."

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright." He rubbed the back of his head and she tried not to think about the red flush on his cheeks, "We should...probably go back to the others. And we gotta check out the Oscorp thing today, right?"

"You sure you still wanna come with me?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. It'll keep me from moping." They both smiled forcefully at the bad joke, "Seriously, Gwen, I'll be fine. I'm Spider-Man."

"Yeah...and I won't forget it again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me some hours to write and I didn't proofread, so apologies for any lapses in quality. I'll try to do better next time when anxiety isn't kicking me in the rear. Hopefully those meditation tips and chamomile teas help.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter was mostly undoing the last chapter's shitty ending. Apologies for anyone that wanted that to be longer or for there to be drama based on the lie, but character-wise I figured this version of Gwen - who'd beaten Murdock, survived prison and had her identity exposed - wouldn't be able to keep up the charade too long, unlike Looking Glass Gwen.
> 
> Speaking of, Looking Glass reference at the midpoint :D It felt pretty masturbatory putting that in, but whatever. The original plan was for Two Spiders Gwen to have the conversation with Looking Glass Gwen about lying to their respective Peters. I switched it around so she talked to Spider-Verse Gwen instead and added the plot point of possibly using the glitch effect to bypass the Infinity Stones. We'll see if it works.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. So at this point we're pretty set on the Gwen/Peter pairing. Still, do you guys think the two have good chemistry? A previous reader commented that he found MJ and Peter nice since the former helped cheer him up and dragged him out of his awkwardness during the Dazzler concert whereas Gwen and Peter have an underlying tension with one another.
> 
> 2\. Would you guys want romance-centric chapters? By that I mean chapters where romance is the main point such as a date or a chapter where there's no baddies or plot, just the two trying to deal with their attraction to one another.


	11. Sitting in a Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt kinda off for me, mostly because writing Earth-65 villain problems seems so small after all the multiversal shenanigans last chapter. That and I don't like writing action scenes in general, as I've made clear before. Next chapter should be easier since it's back to slice of life and interactions with cast members like the Parkers.

"Are you alright, Peter?"

Peter nearly missed his next swing at Karen's sudden question. He quickly ejected another webline and swung around the corner, "Uh, y-yeah! Totally!"

"Your voice pitched higher and your heartbeat is elevated. Something's 'bugging you'."

"No, Karen! Geez, I'm fine!"

"Your heart rate is still elevated, however. Was it because of the near kiss you shared with Gwen earlier?"

This time Peter did miss the swing. He landed on the roof with a quick roll and jumped up again automatically, "Wh-What? We did not do that!" He just...hugged her. It wasn't like the situation didn't call for it.

Finding out the news from Gwen...it wasn't like it was a shock - he knew ever since his disappearance on Titan that they'd lost 0 but hearing it confirmed still felt like a slap in the face. Half the universe dead with the people who stayed behind trying to pick up the pieces. He wanted to be there and help as much as he could, but even now whatever that big purple drillbit did still kept him trapped here.

But...it wasn't like there weren't worse placed to be trapped in. Sure those first couple of hours were rough, especially when he hugged Tony 'I own a mercenary army' Stark, but things really looked up after he met Gwen. Without her he had no idea what he would've done. Probably sleeping on rooftops like Mr. Howard back home, though something told him that the pigeons wouldn't like him as much.

"So why is your stress level elevated?"

"Because...well, you heard what Gwen said!" He stopped and hung off a high tower, "I've been thinking about home ever since we got here and now...I don't even know what to do about it."

"You said before you believed we could fix this. Was that a lie?"

"Well...no-"

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Her voice was surprisingly firm, "Anxiety and thinking of what-if's often lead to undue stress and, in Mr. Stark's case, into alcoholism. I would prefer if you did not follow into that same route."

"Karen, I'm 17! Jeez!" Then again it wasn't like being Spider-Man didn't break the rules considering he wasn't an Avenger.

"Exactly my point. Research shows that children as young as 12 indulge in alcoholism in response to various stressors. Your elevated heart rate and high pitch indicate someone who's undergoing stress."

"Yeah, cause half of our home got dusted!" Why was he even arguing about this? Wasn't it normal to worry? "I don't even know if Aunt May's..."

"Either she's alive and she's helping people due to her career as a nurse or she followed you. In the latter scenario there's at least a 50 percent chance that she also didn't perish but was simply transported into another universe, same as you. This statistic would apply to anyone who was 'dusted', especially since we don't have knowledge on how these Infinity Stones were made to function."

"Well...I guess." That was something that he'd thought about. He was supposed to be dead, but instead he was here. What if everyone who got turned to dust was the same way, just trapped in different dimensions and looking for a way to come back? Energy couldn't be created or destroyed and all that. Mayday did say there was an infinite number of universes. Heck, maybe a few of them were here, just in different places? Maybe he should start checking the news about people claiming to be from another dimension...

"Your heart rate has lowered to an optimal number, Peter."

"Yeah...thanks, Karen."

"Don't mention it. Part of my duties involve psychological aid and assurance. Mr. Stark assumed you would need it." Wow...he didn't know whether to be grateful or annoyed about that, "Please don't hesitate to talk to me about any more problems you're experiencing. I'm always ready to listen."

"I know..." He prepared to jump off and stopped, "Wait, you trying to set me up with, like, MJ or Gwen...was that part of your programming?"

"No, that's what I do for fun."

Okay...he wasn't going to ask. Peter jumped off the building and let looked up (down?) at the rushing ground. He had a few hours left of free time since work was off and Gwen had let up on her 'no going on patrol' restriction, at least for now.

He smiled and waved at a little kid who saw him and pointed with a large smile on her face. Apparently New York was mixed on how they felt about any kind of Spider-Person. Most kids and teenagers liked Gwen (apparently the ex-prison bird thing was a real boost to her rebellitude), but a lot of older people didn't. Something about a generational gap, or at least that was what MJ said.

It was actually pretty similar to back home. In his case, youtube helped.

No villains for the rest of the day, though there was a lot more crime than he expected. Back home he was 'lucky' if he ran into a single mugging and carjacking, but here he ran into three separate muggings and an actual attempted kidnapping in the first couple of hours. Oh, and the old guy he saved from said kidnapping blamed him and said it was somehow his fault he got kidnapped for ransom.

He wondered how Gwen dealt with this for two years...

_'Gwen...'_  He swung high and released in a wide arc. He really did owe her a lot. Taking him to the Web Warriors probably wasn't too much of a bother, but everything after that - putting him up in her apartment, looking out for him when she had her own problems, helping him during his date with MJ, and all without asking for anything in return - was more than he could've expected. Even his part time job paychecks didn't do much to pay her back for everything.

_"Hey, Spiders gotta stick together, right?"_

That was what she said, but was that the only reason? What if it was Aunt May or Mr. Stark or someone else she ran into at Chinatown? Would she have helped? It definitely sounded like something she'd do. Even earlier when she told him about what happened and they hugged, it was...

"Peter, your heart rate and body temperature has raised slightly. Are you stressed again?"

"Wh-What? No, no! It's just the sun!" He spun on a pole and waved at the people inside a nearby office building.

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, Karen, I'm good!"

Thankfully he didn't have to deny for too long. His phone suddenly rang and he tapped the side of his mask to accept the call (activating Karen definitely made things more convenient), "Hey, Gwen, what's up?"

"Peter, you busy?"

"Not right now, no. Why, what's happening?"

"Shadowcat gave me a heads up: Norman's back in town." He stopped swinging and hung off the side of a wall, "I was hoping we could check up on him first...you know, put it all behind us." A pause, "But if you don't wanna then it's cool. I can-"

"No, I'm good. Just text me the address." Ever since Gwen told him the news she'd started walking on eggshells, like it was somehow her fault that he was trapped here and home was up shit's creek. He got why - he'd been skittish for the first few days when Aunt May first found out - but it was also annoying being on the other end of it. He just wanted to scream that the last thing she should feel was guilt after everything she did for him.

The place wasn't too far. Peter made a detour to pick up his backpack and landed in an empty alley a short distance away. Gwen mentioned in the text that going in with their costumes was a real bad idea, so now here he was, stripping down in a dirty alley back into his civvies. Peter looked around briefly and waited for his spider-sense to blare. After a quarter of a minute he figured it was safe enough and took his suit off.

He was down to his boxers when he heard it, "Hubba hubba." He screamed and turned to the source of the voice. Shadowcat leaned with her back against the wall with her arms crossed, a cocky smile on her face, "Oh, don't let me stop you. Just enjoying the show here."

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Where was he supposed to put his hands? This really wasn't like when May caught him in his boxers with Ned in the room, "Y-You-"

"I'm here because it's my job. Green Goblin ringing any bells?"

"Y-Yeah, but why are you  _here_?"

"Oh, that? Well, I sniffed you out and when I got here you were already stuffing the suit into your backpack, "Her eyes trailed down to his chest and stomach, "Nice pecs, by the way. Do all your Spider People get that or is it just you?"

"That's- would you just turn around?! I need to change!"

"Alright, fine! Big baby." She laughed and turned around, smile still on her face. Peter tried to ignore the heat on his cheeks and took out his clothes, "You done yet?" His head snapped back to her. She was still facing away, but he could practically see the grin she was sporting.

"N-Not yet!"

"You know, you're way more sensitive than a guy who runs around in spandex all day has any right to be."

"That's different!" He put the pants on in a rush and breathed a sigh of relief. Least his boxers weren't out anymore, "That's like...my uniform, you know? Helps keep my identity secret and so people recognize me. Like they look up and see the guy in red and blue and wevs and they think 'hey, that's Spider-Man!' or something."

"Whatever. Pretty sure you and Spider-Girlie just want people to look at your ass." He sighed and gave up trying to argue. Now he got why Gwen didn't like her, "You know we don't have to walk through the front lobby. I can phase up there and you two can swing. We can dangle Osborn off the side of a building, easy."

"Uh...maybe we don't do that? The guy could be innocent." He put on his shoes and walked to the open street, Shadowcat following behind casually.

"Please, you've seen how big his tower is." She jerked her thumb to said big tower, "You don't get to be that high up without screwing  _someone_  over. Consider it karma."

"That your logic for everything, Shadowcat?" Gwen asked as she walked up to them. Like she said she wasn't wearing her costume and thankfully no one in the crowd recognized her.

"Sure. Everyone's fucked over someone else at least once in their life and got away with it. Even you, Saint Gwen."

Gwen's eyes narrowed and Peter quickly interrupted, "So, how are we supposed to meet with this Osborn guy?" He really didn't know how the two planned to not kill each other if he weren't here.

"Easy, we'll walk up to the receptionist and ask. Norman owes me a favor."

"For getting Mr. Lizard-Goblin off the hook, you mean," Shadowcat said. Gwen pursed her lips, "Hey, I ain't judging. Rich get off while everyone else gets screwed over. Makes finding jobs easy."

"Always a charmer. No wonder Cap wanted you in the Suicide Squad."

The inside of Oscorp Tower reminded me of Stark Industries, all sleek designs and professional machinery. He lagged behind his two companions and looked around, mouth slightly agape. One thing he'd spent some time checking out was just how different the tech was here from back home. This place was definitely different - more neon and holographic screens and everything looked way smoother. It felt like he stepped into a comic book sometimes.

The young receptionist looked up and immediately failed to hide her frown when she saw them. Peter couldn't blame her. She was probably used to welcoming men and women with suits and here they were strolling in dressed in jeans and sweats.

"Can I help you?"

"We need to meet Mr. Osborn." Gwen said confidently despite the disparaging stare.

The receptionist wrinkled her nose, "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but-"

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you."

"W-Wait!" Gwen slammed her hands on the table while Shadowcat snickered behind her, "Look, it's important. Call him and tell him that it's about his son. He'll want to hear this."

The receptionist gave her another disparaging look before eventually pulling out her phone, "Hello, Mr. Osborn? Yes, I'm sorry to bother you but there's a woman here with two others who want to meet you. She says it's about your son." She paused to hear his answer and looked up at Gwen again, "What's your name?"

"An...old friend."

"A name, miss."

Gwen sighed and leaned in closer to whisper, "Gwen Stacy. I've met with him before."

It took a second, but the woman's eyes widened when the name finally registered, "Ah, Mr. Osborn, Spi- uh, Gwen Stacy is here to meet you." Another pause, "Y-Yes, I'll send them up. Thank you." The receptionist cut the phone call and gave Gwen another fish eyed look, "You're-"

"Hey, we're in so let's not waste any time," Shadowcat interrupted.

"U-Uh, yeah!" Gwen nodded and rushed to the elevator with the two of them right behind her. She pressed the button to the top floor and practically sagged against the wall when the doors finally closed, "God, she's probably gonna tweet that..." She brought a hand through her face and sighed. Another thing that was clear - Gwen really didn't like the attention being unmasked gave her.

"What did you think would happen?" Shadowcat crossed her arms and raised a brow.

"I dunno, I thought Norman would figure what I meant. How many old friends could he have coming to talk about Harry?"

"Seriously, that was your entire plan? Just hope the CEO doesn't ask for the name of the people who might be trying to blackmail him? Jesus Christ. No wonder you thought taking off the mask would magically fix everything."

"Hey, fuck you-"

"Guys, guys, no fighting!" Peter got between them again, "Can we please just get through this?"

"...She started it." Gwen crossed her arms and faced away to hide her face from view. If he were anywhere else he might've laughed at Gwen - mature, serious and dependable Gwen - was acting like a 10 year old.

"Hey,  _I_  wanted to dangle the guy off the building.  _You_  wanted through the lobby."

Gwen just harumphed and didn't respond. Thankfully they didn't have to stay in the awkward silence much longer before the door opened. Peter stepped out first and looked around the place. This was definitely different from Mr. Stark's office or even the lobby downstairs. Instead of sleek tech and blueprints the place looked like a penthouse, all decorations, fancy paintings and furniture that looked like it belonged in a magazine.

The man behind the large table wasn't someone he recognized. He looked about the same age as May, and the cleanly pressed suit and steepled hands only added to that, "Ms. Stacy," he said, expression stern.

"Hey, Mr. Osborn," Gwen smiled slightly, "Been a while, huh?"

"Quite. I haven't seen you since your trial."

"Yeah. Thanks for the glowing testimony, by the by. Having Oscorp's CEO as a character witness was a real boost."

"You're quite welcome-"

"Alright, can we cut the chase" Shadowcat said, "You ain't an idiot, Osborn. You know why we're here."

"I assume it's due to the Green Goblin's attack." He set his hands on the table and let out a soft breath, "Such a stupid name."

"Pretty cool suit, though," Peter said.

Mr. Osborn's gaze shifted from Shadowcat to him. Peter suddenly straightened up, "...You must be Spider-Man." He almost denied it before the older man raised a hand up, "No need to deny it. I recognize both Ms. Stacy and 'Shadowcat', but not you. I doubt either would bring along a civilian to a meeting like this so that narrows down the list of suspects. Don't worry, I have no interest in antagonizing any of you."

"Hey, I don't give a crap if you blackmail him." Shadowcat shrugged.

"You're all heart, Shadowcat," Gwen rolled her eyes, "Listen, Mr. Osborn, we came here to ask you for information. S.H.I.E.L.D thinks that Harry went off the deep end because of the attack, but I don't. We cured him of the serum and he has no access to the tech he had when he was working with S.I.L.K. I know you wouldn't have supplied him, so we just...need some proof to take to S.H.I.E.L.D that Harry's innocent."

"Hmm...well, I appreciate you coming to me. You've already saved Harry once before." He stood from the desk and picked up a phone from the desk, "You'll be glad to know that Harry couldn't have done it because he wasn't even in the country. He's been out recuperating in the alps at my...request. If he left I would've known about it. You can call him if you want to confirm this."

"A summer home in the alps? Christ, could you be any more cliche?" Shadowcat scoffed.

"So, who do you think it is?" Peter asked as Gwen turned away to video call Harry.

"Honestly? I'm unsure." Mr. Osborn sighed, "The amount of people who're aware of the Green Goblin aren't in short supply since people caught onto my son and Ms. Stacy's fight over a year prior, but to have the resources to replicate his technology, not to mention the skills it would take to operate such machinery...it would take planning and training to pull this off."

"Oh come off it, Osborn. You don't think anyone'd want to fuck you over?" Shadowcat asked.

"That's assuming that this person is even aware of who was behind the mask."

"I think they do." Gwen handed the phone back to Mr. Osborn with a relieved smile, "When I called him 'Harry' he didn't act surprised. I mean maybe he was just rolling with it, but there was something about him...you sure you don't know anyone who'd want to pull you down a peg?"

"Ms. Stacy, I'm the CEO of an international company with ties to numerous businesses such as defense contracts, medicine and other sensitive investments. If you're trying to narrow down suspects based on those who might wish to see me 'pulled down a peg' then you won't have any luck."

"But there has to be something," Peter said, "I mean, we can't just wait for this guy to attack people again."

"...There is something." Mr. Osborn sighed and tapped something on his phone, "I found out upon my arrival that one of our defense contract shipments was taken recently. It could be a coincidence - corporate espionage and sabotage is part and parcel in this line of business, after all - but if you insist on this theory that this new Goblin is targeting me then it connected. I'll send you the address of the tracking chip."

"Why didn't you call the police?" Gwen asked.

It was Shadowcat who answered, "Cause it's easier to hire mercs and personal goons who won't ask questions. Trust me, there's always something just a  _little_  bit illegal that you don't want the boys in blue to log into their books."

"A crude way to put it, but yes. The gear that was stolen is legal and will go to the government - I've no interest in dabbling in illegal arms dealing - but my clients would prefer the contents be kept out of the public eye. I was going to send an Oscorp security team to recover the items, but if you believe it'll help then I can let you three handle it. Hopefully it'll give you all peace of mind."

"Sure, and you get three superpowered freaks to do your work for you for free." Shadowcat smirked and tossed a card at his feet,, "Shrewd businessman, Mr. Osborn. If you need any work done then hit me up. I have very reasonable rates."

"Are you seriously fishing for a job  _now_?" Gwen gave her a look of disbelief.

"Hey, some of us don't want to live in crappy apartments the rest of our lives. You should give it a shot. Pretty sure a lot of people'd pay top dollar to get the oh-so-great Spider-Gwen."

"Yeah, sure..." Gwen rolled her eyes and turned back to Mr. Osborn, "Thank you for this. We promise we'll find out who this maniac is."

"And if it  _is_  your kid then I'll be back." Shadowcat brandished her claws and grinned, "Nothing personal, of course."

"He's still a suspect? I just talked to him! You saw me doing it!" Gwen said.

"That could've been anyone. Could've been a guy in a mask or a hologram; you'd be surprised how often that fools people." She willed the claws away, "But we'll burn that bridge when we get there. Come on, let's get to this place."

"You can take the express route, if you wish." Mr. Osborn gestured to the window.

"Thanks. Really didn't want to go through the lobby." Gwen said. She let the suit cover her again while Shadowcat phased through the floor, "Need me to wait?"

"Uh, no. Lemme just put on a mask real quick. Send me the address."

Gwen nodded and jumped out the window. Peter pulled out his mask and barely put it over his face when Mr. Osborn suddenly said, " Please watch out for Ms. Stacy."

"Huh?"

"You are her friend, correct?"

"Uh...yeah, but why the sudden request?"

"I owe her a debt. Without her my son would've remained infected and locked up for the rest of his life; and doing so cost her. The incident spiraled into the situation that left her locked up in prison. I thought she'd resent Harry and myself for not doing more, and yet here she is trying to prove him innocent again. I...owe her a debt that can't be repaid, so I can only ask that you look out for her."

"O-Oh, well...sure. I mean I owe her a lot too." Peter smiled from underneath the mask. After all the things he'd read - the accusations of murder, being forced to spend a year in prison - it was nice to see that someone actually felt grateful, "And don't worry, I'm sure your son'll be proven innocent. Gwen won't let him get arrested for something he didn't do."

"Yes, I'm well aware." Mr. Osborn's smile was surprisingly cheery, "Well, good luck, Spider-Man."

Peter nodded and jumped out the window to duck into the closest alley. He managed to change into his full suit by the time his phone buzzed, "According to the location, it should take about 5 to 10 minutes via webswinging."

Gwen and Shadowcat were on a nearby rooftop when he got there, "Hey, Spidey," Shadowcat waved lazily without looking up. In front of them was a warehouse that reminded him too much of Mr. Toomes' old hideout, "You ready?"

"We just busting in there?"

"Sure. I sniffed out only one guy in there and with the three of us should be easy." Shadowcat stood and grinned, "Come on!"

"Hey, wait!" Shadowcat jumped and rushed to the entrance, slashing through the metal like a hot knife through butter, "God damn it. Come on, Spider-Man!" Gwen swung down and Peter followed.

His spider-sense tingled as soon as they were inside, "Incoming!" He flipped to the side to avoid the robot flying through the air towards him with a lightsaber drawn, "Woah, close one!" He webbed its head and pulled. The head snapped off and he threw it to another nearby bot, "These guys have lightsabers too!"

"Yeah, I noticed." Gwen jumped back to avoid the slash from another bot and kicked it hard enough to split it in half, "You see Shadowcat?"

"Uh, no!" He jumped over another bot and unclipped his own laser sword. This was going to be so cool, "Hey, over here!" He wielded the sword with both hands.

Gwen actually stopped after punching away another bot, "Seriously?"

"What?"

"Ah, nevermind! Just don't lose your arm!"

Three bots charged. Peter dodged all the slashes and cut the first one in half vertically, "Woah, awesome!" Ned would've loved this! "Come on!" He 'decapitated' another and blocked the slash from the last bot. The blades sparked and hissed on contact, "Was Mr. Osborn really selling these to the government? Why would they want lightsabers?" Granted he wanted a lightsaber, but he wasn't a soldier or anything.

"Dunno! Just keep slashing!" Gwen flipped back and kicked another bot to the wall.

They went through about a dozen more bots when the barrage suddenly stopped. The door to the other end of the warehouse was kicked open and Shadowcat came out dragging a short old man with her, "Hey ho, look what I found!" She threw him roughly through the air and he landed painfully in front of them, "Phineas Mason, but people in the underworld call him The Tinkerer. He was the one who programmed the bots."

"Y-You...don't have any idea who you're-"

"Yeah, yeah, save it. We've heard that before." Gwen knelt in front of him and narrowed the eyes of her masks, "You're too short to be the new Goblin, and in my experience techie guys always end up working for someone. So, let's make this easy: you tell us who you're working for and we can dump you off in prison in time for dinner. Sound good?"

"You think I'd betray him?" He looked up at Gwen, eyes wide with fear, "This...This isn't about money! He threatened me. Knew about my safehouses, where I've worked, who I've worked for...if I didn't work for him then he'd destroy me."

"Oh, who called in the waahmbulance?" Shadowcat rolled her eyes, "You made weapons for criminals, Phinny. You don't get to cry when it bites you in the ass." She brandished the claws again, "Now you tell us who you're working for or I gouge your eyes out. Got it?"

"Hey, we're not doing that!" Gwen hissed and stood up.

"Oh sure, and I guess you think this guy'll just spill because we ask nice? Grow up, Spider-Gwen."

"Guys, stop fighting!" Peter sighed and crouched in front of the sniveling old man, "Look, whoever this guy is we can protect you, okay? We stopped him once already. And like you said he's forcing you to work for him by blackmailing you, so he's gonna keep holding that over you."

"Yeah. If he knows where you live and who you are then there's no way out on your own. Trust me, I know." Gwen's voice became softer at the end, "Just tell us before he starts bombing another place. Please."

Tinkerer looked between the two of them and was about to answer when his phone suddenly rang, "It's him..." Gwen's eyes narrowed again and she picked the phone out of his pocket. Unknown number and no picture, "He knows..."

Gwen tapped the screen and put it on speaker, "Hello?"

"Trying to take Mr. Mason away from me?" The voice was loud and distorted while the image on the screen was glitchy and constantly shifting. It reminded him of a cyberpunk film he and Ned watched, "You're wasting your time. I never left him any details that could be traced back to me."

"And you called us just to tell us that? Yeah, not buying it." Gwen scoffed.

"Oh, it's not just that. I also wanted to give you fair warning. Heads up!"

And then his spider-sense screamed. Peter stuck his feet to the floor just before the explosion came from all around them. Gwen managed to keep her balance, but Shadowcat fell on her back and grimaced, "Those blasts came from below us!" She pulled herself up and looked around, "We gotta split!"

"What about Mason?" Gwen screamed.

"Screw it, he'll just slow us down!"

Without another word she turned and ran to the closest wall to phase out of it. Gwen didn't get a chance to shout out whatever curse she planned before another explosion rang behind them far too close for comfort. Gwen screamed when the heat rushed over them, the edges of her suit shaking, "P-Please help me!" Tinkerer grabbed on his legs desperately, "Don't leave me here!"

"Oh, damn it..." Peter slung Mason over his shoulder with one arm while the other pulled Gwen up, "Gwen, come on! We have to go!"

"Peter, we're seconds from reaching critical mass," Karen said unhelpfully.

Gwen shook her head, "Yeah, yeah, just...just gimme a..." Another explosion, this time from above. They didn't have time for this.

Mentally apologizing, Peter tightened his grip on Gwen and threw her through one of the high windows before jumping up after her. Thankfully she seemed to gain her bearings mid-arc and managed to snag two lines of webbing to pull herself through the wrecked opening.

He wasn't so lucky. Peter just barely managed to jump through with Mason in tow when a final, defeaning explosion went off behind him. His spider-sense blared one last time and he moved mid-jump to block Tinkerer's body. He couldn't dodge like this, but he could still lower the damage.

The first thing he noticed was the heat, quickly followed by something impaling his left arm. Peter screamed and barely had enough strength to eject a line of webbing with his right to keep from faceplanting altogether. He swung in a low arc and barely touched the ground when he let go of the web and both he and Tinkerer rolled against the concrete painfully.

The ringing in his head lasted till Gwen landed in front of him, "Sp...an...right?" She knelt down on front of him and tried to sit him up. Her mask was pulled back, allowing him to see her soot covered face, "Pe...ear me?"

"Ear's ringing..." He mumbled. His shoulder hurt, "Karen, you there?"

"Yes, Peter. A piece of metal impaled itself on your arm. I recommend removing it in a safe area and getting immediate medical attention."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that..." He mumbled.

By the time the ringing went away Shadowcat had caught up with them. She crouched next to Tinkerer's shivering body and wrinkled her nose, "Can't believe you actually brought this guy with you."

"Thanks for the help back there." Gwen scowled.

"Hey, you two can take care of yourself. You did just fine when you got that monster suit," Shadowcat replied flippantly, "Well, since you brought him out I figure S.H.I.E.L.D'll wanna talk to him. Not like there's anything left back there." She looked back and frowned at the burning warehouse. She was right - Peter doubted there'd be anything left to salvage once the fire died out.

"Whatever." Gwen continued to scowl as she picked him up with his non-injured arm, "We're leaving. You can haul Tinkerer back to S.H.I.E.L.D yourself."

Shadowcat waved them both off and they managed to swing back to her place, Peter leaning against Gwen the entire way. He'd taken worse hits, especially back when he fought Mr. Toomes or back on Titan, but it was the first time he'd gotten seriously injured since he got here. He knew he was lucky - the dull, burning pain was nothing compared to everything else.

Gwen took them through the window and laid him down on the couch, "We gotta take this out." Gwen grabbed the piece of metal and cringed, "This is gonna hurt. You ready?"

Peter nodded and, after a moment of hesitation, Gwen pulled the metal out. He didn't scream, though he did grit his teeth and his breath became more labored, "Do you...have any bandages?"

"Yeah, um...I'll go get em. Take off your suit."

Peter nodded blearily and pressed the symbol to make the suit loosen. Gwen came back from the bathroom with a first-aid kit, face etched in a frown, "Shit, forgot to restock." She set the kit down onto the table and pulled the suit till it was at his waist, "Hmm, doesn't look too deep." He nodded again and pulled off his mask with his free hand. Powers probably kept it from punching in too hard.

Gwen got out some disinfectant and a cotton square, "...Sorry." Peter hissed when the cotton hit skin. Both hands clenched into tight fists and he did his best to keep from moving as Gwen cleaned up the wound. The piece of metal was more thin than anything, so the cut was thinner than he expected. He actually got lucky, "Hmm, we don't have enough bandages."

"Just web it..."

"Uh, are you sure?"

"Yeah, did it before." He gave her one of his webshooters, "Tested it...made sure webfluid was safe..."

"Huh...genius." Gwen smiled weakly pressed twice to cover the cut in a thin blanket of webbing, "Alright?" He nodded. Gwen unrolled what little bandages they had and made him sit up, "Hold still. Can't fuck this up." He didn't say anything as she wrapped the white cloth around his arm and shoulder and then pressed down on the wound, "We gotta stop the bleeding. Tell me if it hurts."

Eventually, after 15 minutes the pain gradually lessened. Peter lay back down on the couch while Gwen washed the blood off her hands. He felt exhausted, "...You think they can get anything out of that Tinkerer guy?"

"Who knows? This entire mess is just one giant clusterfuck." She sat down next to him and eyed his wound again. There was that guilt again. He wanted to say something to make it go away, "Can't believe you did that."

"What, bringing Tinkerer with us? It wasn't that out of the way."

"Maybe, but...I dunno. It's been a while since I've spent so much time with another Spider. Everyone here - Cap, Shadowcat, whatever - they always talk about acceptable losses or tell me that trying to save everyone's an idiot's game. I shouldn't be surprised, but..." She sighed and shook her head, "You saved me too back there. Thanks. I'm sorry for dragging you into that mess, you shouldn't have gotten hurt-"

"Hey, stop..." He reached out with his right arm and squeezed her shoulder, "I should be the one thanking you. When I woke up in that alley I just bumbled into one mess right after another. You gave me a place to stay, helped me out without ever asking for anything back...I dunno what would've happened if I didn't run into you."

"Pfft, you would've been fine." Gwen smiled and laughed softly.

"I'm not so sure about that..." He laughed back, "Well, even if I would've been okay...I'm glad I met you. I didn't think there were other Spider-People, someone else who got what we went through. So...thanks. For everything. When I manage to find a way back, I'll definitely keep visiting."

"Yeah, I'll keep the couch open."

Her smile widened and she held onto his hand, pressing it gently against her warm shoulder. He wanted to say more, but her smile caused the words to die in his mouth. This entire thing was a mess, but if there was one thing he could be thankful for it was meeting Gwen and the others; especially her. Sure he thought MJ was gorgeous, but with Gwen there was a solidarity that he never felt from anyone else. Bitten by a spider, spurned on because of responsibility...he was definitely glad he met her.

"You don't have to do it alone," Peter mumbled,"You helped me, and I want to help you. Don't feel guilty about it, okay?"

"Yeah...I got it."

They were close; close enough that he couldn't see anything but the blue of her eyes. He should've leaned back, put some distance, but instead he inched closer, "Hey..." Gwen said softly. He expected her to pull back, but instead she matched the gesture. Their foreheads touched and his heart beat wildly against his chest. Everything rational inside told him that it wasn't the time or the place for this, but another wondered what 'this' was supposed to be.

His question was answered when they both closed the gap and kissed. He didn't know what he expected. The contact was soft, their lips just gently touching while they both closed their eyes. Gwen raised her free hand and cupped his cheek while Peter's grip on her other hand tightened. It was his first kiss, the jubilant part of his mind cheered, and it was with Spider-Woman- no,  _Gwen Stacy_.

He didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but eventually they pulled back. Gwen's expression was hard to decipher - somewhat embrassed but also something he couldn't place, "Um...wow," Gwen whispered. He didn't know if that was good or bad, "That was, um..."

"Yeah, that was...that." He coughed and tried to ignore the heat in his cheeks, "S-So, um..."

Whatever he was about to say was cut off when he heard stomping up the stairs and Betty slammed the door open, "Honeys, I'm home- woah! What the heck happened to you?" She eyed his bandaged shoulder.

Betty's arrival was like a bucket of cold water. Peter raised the blanket to cover his chest while Gwen stood up like she'd been zapped, "Oh, good, you're here!" Gwen said. Her voice sounded off, "I, uh, gotta restock the medkit so could you watch Pete for me? Thanks!"

"Ah, Gwen-" She practically zipped out the door before he could finish. Peter looked at the closed door flopped back into the couch with a groan. Karen was  _so_  not going to let him live this down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...that ending was rushed. Granted it's been 11 chapters so maybe some people think it's good, but after Looking Glass having the leads kiss after being barely into the double digits feels odd. Then again these two generally get along far better compared to Noir and Gwen, so this at least makes some sense.
> 
> Still, I know there are some people disappointed because they wanted more romance with MJ and/or wanted more build up for Gwen. Regardless, this isn't going to turn into a full blown romance fic or anything. I still have some other things to tackle.
> 
> ...That is unless people want the two in a relationship this early on and they spend the rest of the fic as a couple. Most romances tend not to tackle what comes after the actual coupling, mostly cause people are more interested in the set-up than anything else. I wonder if people here are the same or if it's more interesting to see them actually dating on top of their other issues.


	12. K-I-S-S-I-N-G

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick surprise update :D The plot for this chapter, or at least the beginning, was pretty clear to me and I wanted to write something lighter. Hopefully you guys enjoy it.
> 
> Oh, and just a heads up: until Avengers Endgame comes out/clarifies how much the timeskip is supposed to be I'm going to hold off on advancing the 'go home and stop Thanos' part of the plot. This leaves us open for more romance and Earth-65 shenanigans, especially given the plot thread tackled in this chapter. Hopefully people are cool with it.
> 
> Side Note - A friend suggested I do a discord group discussing Spider fics or fanfics in general. Would you guys be interested? If so hit me up on a review or PM.

What the fuck did she just do?

Gwen stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pressed her forehead against the wall.  _You know exactly what you did_ , the traitorous part of her whispered. She kissed Peter. Well, he kissed her too, but she didn't stop him. She could have. She wasn't the one lying on the couch with a freshly bandaged wound. She could've pulled back and stood up, easy as that.

So why didn't she?

Sure, she liked the guy, but she liked a lot of people. She liked Glory, Betty MJ, Mayday, Billy, Ham, and even Noir (kinda) and she didn't kiss any of them except for that one time she was  _really_ drunk. And even then she definitely didn't  _make out_  with them. Sure, there wasn't any tongue and their spandex stayed firmly on, but that definitely wasn't a kiss she'd give to a friend.

"Shit..." She pulled herself off the wall and took a deep breath, "Pull it together, Gwen..." She slapped her face twice and walked out the door. Now wasn't the time to worry about...whatever the hell that was. Right now she just had to focus on the supplies they needed.

The sky was slightly overcast when she finally stepped outside, signalling the coming night. Gwen pulled up the hood of her shapeshifted jacket and did her best to keep a low profile. Like Shadowcat said her apartment wasn't exactly private knowledge anymore. Back in the raft she dreaded what she'd come back to: a dad who'd never wake up, a surrogate aunt and uncle who'd hate her for the rest of their lives, friends who'd pretend she was a stranger because they didn't want to be in danger.

But none of that happened. Her friends were there the second she was out and they picked up where they left off, her dad woke up and he was going through therapy, and Aunt May and Uncle Ben didn't hate her.

And then there was Peter.

She almost forgot to round the corner. Out of everything he was definitely the person she least expected. She'd gotten better at dealing with Peters, especially compared to just a year ago, but living with the guy for over a month at this point was something she couldn't have planned for. When she first saw him she thought it would've been a quick trip to the Web Warriors base and eventually they'd just nod at each other if they ever saw each other again at base.

It would've been way simpler if it was really like that.

The door to the corner store opened with a ding, "Hey, Mrs. Chen," she nodded to the cashier.

"Ah, Gwen. How's it going?"

"Eh, same old, same old." She shrugged with one shoulder and lowered her hood. Mrs. Chen didn't care about who she was, which she was really thankful for. It probably helped that she'd stumbled in here more than once at the ass crack of night looking meds, junk food or, and this was something she'd never tell her dad, some cheap beer. Hard to see Spider-Woman as some larger than life figure after that.

She picked up the stuff she needed automatically. Back when Betty and the others didn't know about her (non-paying) side job she spent entire nights just patching herself up in front of the bathroom mirror and hoping none of the other girls saw the bandages under her clothes. It was even more complicated when she came to practice with a black eye - cause fuck you very much, Gorrilla Man - and Glory spent the entire day mother henning over her.

Gwen's stomach suddenly grumbled. She looked down at her wallet and frowned, "...Crap." Not enough for even a bag of chips. Hell, she barely had enough to cover the bandages and the painkillers. Guess she'd just have to hope that the others could spot her some-

Spider-sense.

Gwen's head snapped to the entrance just when the thug stepped in. He looked stereotypical as all hell - big and muscly with a tank top and sleeveless vest to show off the tattoos in his arms. His face was mean and covered in a patchy beard with long hair and on the waistband of his jeans she saw the telltale dull glint of a pistol,  _'Really? Now?'_  She just wanted to get home without any more gunshots and explosions.

"Please, I can't keep doing this." Mrs. Chen shook her head. She sounded more tired and familiar than scared, though Gwen still caught a hint of fear.

The thug ignored her and aimed his gun gangster style (seriously?) at her face, "You know the drill! Open the register and-"

And that was as far as he got before Gwen yanked the gun from his grip and webbed it to a nearby wall. He didn't even finish his customary 'what the fuck?!' by the time she webbed his face and pulled him to the ground, "Really, please, stay down. It'll be less embarassing for all of us." She webbed his torso and legs to keep him from wriggling around.

"Fhhhk yuuuu!" He screamed through the web.

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes and stepped over him to the counter, "So what's the damage?" she asked as she set the basket down.

Mrs. Chen blinked owlishly, "Gwen, did you just...web him to the floor?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't worry, made sure he wasn't actually stuck. Just call the cops and they should pick him up." She picked up the crumpled bills from her Spider-Woman (Betty thought it was funny) wallet and placed them at the counter, "This should be enough, right?"

"Hm? Oh, um...just forget about it."

"What? But I need these-"

"That's not what I meant." Mrs. Chen laughed softly, "I mean just take them. It's the least I can do considering what you just did?"

"What? That was nothing." The gagged thug screamed, obviously annoyed that Gwen didn't even consider taking him down to be worth anything, "Seriously, it's cool. Actually, does this happen often?"

"He and a buddy of his used to come around here every week, but now they've been doing it every two days. I was at the end of my rope." She sighed.

"Have you called the police?"

"I tried, but they threatened me. Said that if I called they'd...well," she didn't finish. Gwen got the gist of it.

"Well...why didn't you tell me? I would've helped you." Granted that would've gone against the 'keep a low profile' plan she had, but at this point it was way too obvious that it was never going to work. It didn't matter if she stopped putting on spandex and went to school like a normal person. In the eyes of New York she was Spider-Gwen (she really need a publicist), and no matter what she did she'd always be Spider-Gwen.

"Well...I wouldn't know what to pay you with."

"What? Mrs. Chen, I don't do this for money!"

She blinked again, "You don't? Well, that explains why you can barely seem to afford anything." Gwen's cheeks heated up. She didn't have to say it like that, "Which brings it back to this. Please, I insist. You helped stop him and I don't want to be an ingrate. Actually, take something else if you need it. I heard your stomach rumbling all the way from the counter."

"Ugh, geez." She sighed, "Thanks, but I'm definitely following up on this guy. You said he had a friend, right? Think he'll come check in when his buddy doesn't come back?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"Guess I'm waiting then."

She'd finished her bag of (free!) chips by the time Thug 2 came in. Thankfully Mrs. Chen had locked herself into the back room so by the time he came in waving his gun around gangster style like his buddy webbing him down to the floor next to thug 1 took no time at all, "Alright, I got him!" she shouted to the older woman, "You sure these guys are the only two?"

Mrs. Chen stepped out, "Positive. Some of the other shopkeepers confirmed it. Thank you, Gwen."

"Hey, no prob. Just make sure to stay safe."

"Thanks. You know, you really should think about getting paid for this." First Shadowcat and now her? Did everyone think mercenaries were cool just cause Tony Stark had an army of them? "Oh, and take some corndogs if you want. Those chips aren't enough to fill a stomach and a Superhero needs to eat."

By the time she was on the way back to her apartment she was munching on a corndog with two spares for both Peter and Betty. Her stomach finally stopped grumbling and she smiled. She'd been getting thanked more and more recently. She knew she had supporters, but it was still a nice change of pace from the screams of fear or being labeled a freak of nature. The corndog definitely tasted all the better for it, even if she did feel kinda bad for not paying for it.

She opened the door to her apartment and her smile widened when she saw Betty and Peter chatting like nothing was wrong in the world. His chest was even covered so she didn't have to look at his weirdly defined abs.

...Not that she was looking or anything.

"I brought food!" she tossed both of the wrapped corndog at the pair and set the painkillers down at the table, "We gotta change your bandages in a few hours, but take a couple of these and you should be good."

"Yeah, thanks." Peter grinned and unwrapped the corndog before taking a generous bite. Gwen tried not to think about what else that mouth did about an hour ago.

"So why'd you take so long, G? Run into another supervillain looking to get some e-fame?"

"Nah. Well, not exactly." She sat down on the other seat, "So apparently Mrs. Chen was being harassed by these two dicks who extort her every couple of days. Stopped one guy and then had to wait like like 40 minutes for the other one to show up looking for where his buddy went. Got some free corndogs out of it, at least." She grinned.

"Woah, you actually got paid for the superhero gig? Nice!" Betty cheered.

"Mrs. Chen insisted. Tried to pay for the stuff, but she said she didn't want to be an ingrate."  _Didn't stop the rest of the city for two years_ , that bitter part of her said. She ignored it, "...Actually, she said I should really start charging for the Superhero thing, but really? I mean, what, am I just gonna go to every person I help out and start asking for 20's? I'd feel like a dick."

"Yeah, I mean, back home a couple of people tried to pay me after I helped them out. I didn't accept...well, except for that one old lady who bought me a churro. She really insisted," Peter said.

"So you got paid in churros and Gwen got corndogs. You guys need an accountant or something," Betty shook her head lightly, "But seriously, Gwen, getting paid for the hero thing? Not actually a bad idea."

"Betts, I am  _not_  going to ask the people I save for money!"

"It doesn't have to be like- look here." She set the corndog stick on the table next to the painkiller, "Pretend you're this stick and the painkiller's someone you saved after just swinging around, showing off your hot bod to the city."

"I do not show off my bod!"

"Tell me that when your tush stops trending on twitter." Betty waved a hand through the air, "Anyway, so you see Mr. Painkiller here being mugged in an alley and you go in to save him. You don't ask him for cash cause he didn't ask you to do that and you were just being a good samaritan and all. I mean, when you pull a Heimlich on someone at a restaurant you don't ask for cash, right?"

"Right..." Where was Betty going with this?

"See, but here's the thing. What if someone paid for a bodyguard to escort them down that alley or to be on stand by to make sure they don't choke on food? Then it's not unfair, right? You help out Mr. Painkiller and you get paid while doing it."

"So...you're asking me not to do anything till after they pay me? That's still really dickish."

"No! Ugh, I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one." Betty rolled her eyes, "I mean what if we put up Spider-Gwen on job offer? Like '300 dollars and she'll be your bodyguard for a couple of hours' or something? That's not unfair, is it? You can still do the hero thing on your free time so it's not like you're gonna stop being good, but if someone wants a guarantee you'll be in the area they have to pay for it. Would probably give em some peace of mind."

"...You're really well-prepared," Peter said.

"Watching Kim Possible and a business course actually works out really well," Betty said nonchalantly, "Anyway, what'd ya think?"

"I...I dunno, Betts" Gwen scratched her head and leaned back on the seat, "I mean it sounds great and all, but being a mercenary just feels..."

"Then don't call it a mercenary. Let's call it...Hero for Hire." Betty looked extraordinarily proud of herself at that, "This'll be simple. We can get someone to do the website and we don't even gotta advertise; you gotta be living under a rock to not know who Spider-Gwen is!"  _Spider-Woman_ , she thought in annoyance, "Betcha we start getting clicks the second we put it up."

"Aren't we forgetting something? I still have college to deal with. When am I gonna find the time for this?"

"Just drop out." Betty shrugged.

"Oh, sure, I can just do that! Will that be before or after I tell my dad and he has a freaking heart attack?"

"Then just take a year break or something," She shot back, "Seriously, Gwen, you're not gonna stop being Spider-Woman, so why not? You're really good at the Superhero thing and, let's face it, we could use the money. Rent isn't exactly cheap and Pete's Dollar Dog paycheck ain't helping much."

"I could make the website," Peter said, "I can help out on jobs too. Anything to help pitch in."

"Ugh...fine, make the website! I doubt anyone's gonna hire me for anything..."

* * *

Two days and fifty job offers later and Betty's grin looked like she just won the lottery, "Look, Gwen! Look~" she said in a sing-song voice, completely ignoring Gwen's grimace. She  _really_  didn't think this through, "Check these out! One guy's going on a New York tour and he wants protection for 150 bucks an hour. Ooh, and there's a neighborhood that pooled together their cash so you can do a neighborhood watch and see whose been stealing everyone's gnomes. Oh, and there's this visiting princess from Symkaria that-"

"Okay, Betts, slow down! One at a time!" Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. This  _really_  wasn't what she was hoping for right after school, "Alright, so walk me through it.  _Slowly_."

She did. Betty pointed out all the job offers and with each one Gwen felt another weight added to her shoulders. Some of them were simple enough - she was pretty sure all the tourist ones were just people looking to take a few selfies - and Betty even managed to put in a disclaimer that Gwen could leave if there was something 'mad dangerous' happening close by and the person could even get a deductible refund, so it wasn't like she couldn't stop being hero.

But still, putting Gwen Stacy - no,  _Spider-Woman_  - up for sale like this just felt...wrong. Spider-Woman the criminal, Spider-Woman who spent a year in jail to take responsibility for her actions, and now she was being hired out for a whopping 150 dollars an hour minimum.  _What can I say? You're skilled and people want that_ , Betty said when she'd asked about it.

...Still, she definitely would've been lying if she said she wasn't tempted. A week of good work and she could get enough to pay the entire rent for months with spare change for some corndogs.

Peter stepped through the door in his Dollar Dog uniform, "Hey, Pete, check it out!" Betty grinned and showed him the laptop, "Gwen's New York's hottest commodity!"

"Oh, uh, cool!" Peter smiled back.

"You too, by the way!" She sat Peter down to her right with Gwen to her left, "See, the jobs are separated by which Spider they want. Most of em are cool with either, and some of em even want both, but there are others who just want one or the other. Here," She moved the mouse to the 'Spider Guy' tab, "This chick's looking for a bodyguard for her senior prom. Rich, too; 200 an hour and she's willing to pay for four. That's 800 bucks right there."

"Wait, what?" Gwen cut in, "A 'bodyguard for prom'? Seriously?"

"Alright, so she's obviously trolling for a date, but who cares?"

"Um,  _I_  care?" Peter looked at her in confusion, "I-I mean, we gotta have some dignity here! This is a job board, not a kissing booth!"

"Relax. If the client acts inappropriate then Pete can leave and just refund the money. Trust me, got a friend from Law class draft this up. Besides," She grinned that telltale Betty grin, "She looks pretty cute, right?"

Peter looked closer at the page and nodded, "Yeah, I guess she is." Gwen pursed her lips and ignored the irritation that welled up in her chest. She was definitely a looker. A redhead - cause of course it was a redhead - with a million dollar smile that looked way too practiced.  _Patsy Walker_ , her name said. It sounded vaguely familiar, "I mean...if it's just bodyguarding then I can do it, right? It pays way more than the Dollar Dog, that's for sure."

"I guess..." Gwen did her utter best to suppress the coming frown. His logic was sound, and it'd definitely solve the money problems faster if they both did the Hero for Hire gig, "Uh, what are these 'rules' your Law friend cooked up?"

"Pretty basic stuff: Any and all Spiders - that means you two - are only supposed to do the job you've been hired for; meaning if you're a bodyguard you're gonna be guarding bodies and nothing else. If they want you to dance around like a monkey to get full payment then you don't have to do it, but you can if you like the customer or wanna cheer them up or something. Dating the clients is also not allowed during the job itself, but whatever happens off the clock is up to you. So if you wanna go for some overtime then go for it."

"...Why do you sound like a pimp?" Gwen asked flatly.

"Cause you know I could pull of a cane, honey," Peter almost choked on nothing at Betty's salacious grin, "Anyway, most of these jobs ain't gonna last forever, so just pick which one you guys want and I'll set up the schedule."

"Wow, uh, thanks, Betty! What do we owe ya?" Peter asked.

"Huh? Oh, nah, I'm good. Actually, our term final's about starting up a small or mock business, so this actually works. Way better than trying to sell soap or something." She clicked another tab and an animated gif of both her and Peter swinging crossed the screen, "So, which ones do you guys wanna do? I gotta message back the clients."

"Um, well..." Peter looked at the jobs on the screen, "Well, the prom thing sounds good. It's just 4 hours and that'll give me time to do something else if we need anything."

_Of course_  he'd pick that one. Gwen smiled and again ignored the annoying feeling that sprung up as she looked at her own job listing, "Rash of break-ins in the neighborhood. Group of families decided to pool together a fund to hire someone outside the box. 6 pm to 12 pm patrol." She nodded, "Sure, I can do neighborhood watch." 850 bucks for 6 hours. Technically it meant she was missing 50 bucks from minimum price, but she felt iffy enough about this that it really didn't matter.

"Alright, I'll go message these guys and tell em they got lucky."

Gwen and Peter looked at one another and he gave her an unsure smile, "So...guess we're Heroes for Hire now."

"Yeah. Let's see how long we last."

* * *

"Why did you pick this job, Peter?" Karen asked as soon as he put on the mask. Peter jumped up at the sudden voice and was immediately thankful that neither Gwen or Betty were in the room, "Peter? Your heart rate is elevated again-"

"Yeah, because you surprised me!" He shook his head and jumped out the window. Karen warned him before that it could make it obvious who he was under the mask, but he really didn't worry about that much anymore. Everyone knew who Gwen was and there weren't any records of him in this world outside of Gwen's old best friend, and why would you think that a guy came back from the dead to be Spider-Man?

"Karen, could you gimme a map to the address?"

"Of course, Peter." The see-through map appeared over his right eye. It was about a 7 minute swing, "You didn't answer the previous question. Why did you pick this job? Are you hoping to 'score' with this girl?"

"Wh-What? No!" This was what she found fun? Heckling him about his non-existent lovelife? "I just- the job seemed easy. I mean all I gotta do is stand there and probably take a few photos." He wasn't dumb. What teenage girl could pass up going to prom with a Superhero? That'd give her bragging rights for at least a year once she hit college.

"If you're certain. I had assumed you wouldn't want to cheat on Gwen now that you two are in a relationship.

"We're not in a relationship!" God, his cheeks were warm. He stopped at a rooftop to let his breathing calm, "I mean, we did kiss, but we didn't talk about it afterwards!" Not a single word at all; he was actually kinda hurt. Granted the whole Hero of Hire thing took a lot of their attention, but it wasn't normal to just kiss and not talk about it, right?

"Oh? Good. Then I suppose this doesn't count as cheating. I'm not disappointed anymore."

"You're telling me you were?!" He covered his eyes with both hands, "Ugh, just...we're not in a relationship. I dunno what we're in or out or anything." They were friends, he definitely knew that, but were they more than that? Did he want them to be? He had a crush on MJ - and still kinda did - but Gwen...well, he couldn't say she wasn't pretty and she was really cool in a different way than MJ was. MJ took the stage and wasn't afraid to have everyone's eyes on her while Gwen made being a Superhero look easy.

Peter sighed and sat on top of a nearby vent, "Is something wrong, Peter?" Karen asked kindly.

"It's just...I dunno, my head's all messed up. The only crush I've ever had was Liz and...that didn't end well." And now here he was going to another prom. That was one of the reasons he picked this job - he'd missed his to stop Mr. Toomes and he wanted to see one and feel normal again, even if he did have to go as Spider-Man to do it, "MJ thinks it can't work and Gwen...I dunno what she's thinking, so I don't even know why I'm worrying. I don't think either of them like me that way."

"You need more confidence, Peter. As you told me, Liz was happy to accept your invitation to prom and it wasn't your fault it ended badly. Whether it be Mary Jane or Gwen, I'm sure they'd be happy to be more than friends with you."

"Yeah, well, I doubt it, but thanks." He stepped off the vent and dusted off his costume, "We should probably go. I think I'm late."

Patsy Walker was waiting on her porch by the time he got there, "You're late." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot; the universal sign of disapproval, even if a person was wearing a dress that probably cost more than their entire apartment, "The prom'll start in 5 minutes! How are we supposed to get there on time?"

"Well..." He looked up the address of her school. It was close by, "...How do you feel about heights?"

Apparently she was cool with them, though maybe that was just the cheering screams talking. Peter made sure not to go too fast so he didn't mess up her dress and hair, "This is so awesome!" she shouted, "Way better than a limo!"

"Thanks!" He swung around the corner towards the school, "So where do I drop you off?"

"Front gate! I want everyone to see this!"

Yep, definitely in it just for bragging rights. He didn't mind. Peter landed them on the sidewalk a far distance away from the others and she stepped away with a smile, "So, uh, is there anyone I should watch out for?" Might as well pretend he was still going to be the bodyguard.

"Huh? Oh, uh, just...in general, you know. I mean we wouldn't want a Lizard rampaging through, right?" She laughed. He didn't. Gwen's fight with 'The Midtown High Lizard' was the worst thing she'd dealt with, the same way he felt when he saw Uncle Ben on that sidewalk. Hearing someone make fun felt like an insult to everything Gwen lived with.

"Right...well, I should leave you to it-"

She suddenly grabbed his arm, "Wait, where are you going?"

"To bodyguard? You told me to keep an eye out in general, so I'll take a quick swing around and keep an eye out. Don't worry, my spider-sense'll warn me if you're in danger."

"Ah, but-" She looked back at the crowd of people taking pictures and bit her lower lip, "Wouldn't it be better if you were close by? You know, so you're near if I ever get in trouble?"

"I guess?"

They were close to the entrance when she suddenly grabbed his arm with both hands and pulled him closer. Despite Peter's best efforts a blush crept up his cheeks. This was supposed to be what he would've done with Liz: walk through prom arm in arm, dance and have a good time. Even with the Spider-Man suit he suddenly felt like a 15 year old freshmen again.

His thoughts were interrupted by the music blasting through the auditorium speakers. Again he was reminded way too much of that night, except this time everyone was staring at them. Then again, he knew that coming in: imagine everyone wearing a suit or a dress and then a guy in red and blue spandex came walking in. If he was in their place he would've been gawking too.

Patsy steered them to a table with her friends and their dates; or at least that's what he assumed. Most of the students at the table looked at him with wide yes, "Holy shit, Pats, can't believe you actually did it!" A brunette girl said excitedly.

"Yeah, well, mom insisted. She said it'd be good publicity." She shrugged with her free shoulder.

"Publicity?" Peter whispered.

"Ah...I'll explain later." Her next smile looked forced, "Oh, sit down please."

"Sure..." Peter sat down on the offered seat uncomfortably and tried to ignore the fact that he definitely felt more like an awkward date than a bodyguard. He raised up the mask halfway to his fac and took a sip of the punch as he surveyed the area. He definitely couldn't see anything worth getting a bodyguard for, so he couldn't even pretend this was professional in any way.

"So you new in town?" A guy to his left asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah." Peter nodded awkwardly, "I'm...not from here."

"Yeah, I figured." Patsy smiled, "Spider-Gwen's been around for like five years now. Kinda figured you were her brother or something."

"Ah, no, we're...friends." He tried to ignore Karen humming in his ear at that, "She helped me out of a jam and I'm trying to pay her back.

Two hours passed as the group of friends chatted with Peter occasionally chiming in. Patsy never missed a chance to put a hand on his shoulder or laugh at his jokes when she saw someone was looking, which made him more than a little suspicious. He figured that she was doing this for bragging rights, but this was way above that. Her previous comment on publicity just made it worse.

It was nearing 10 pm when the slow dance came on. All of the people and their dates left, leaving just him and Patsy at the table. The redhead her hair behind her right ear and smiled at him, "So, do you wanna dance?"

He didn't have to. Peter was suddenly reminded of Betty's reassurance that they only had to do the job they were paid for, "Er, sure!" He smiled and pulled his mask back over his face. Maybe it was cause he felt guilty for being paid hundreds of dollars to sit around and drink punch, or maybe it was cause Patsy had a really nice smile, but he agreed.

It couldn't hurt, right?

Patsy led him to the center of the auditorium and guides his hands to her shoulder and waist, "You know how to dance?"

"I know some steps." May taught him. She was so excited when he told her he got a date. He wondered how she was doing now, if was even still ali- "But, you'll probably to lead me. I'm a bit rusty."

"Come on, you sound like you're my age." She grinned and started the steps, "Don't tell me you didn't go to senior prom."

"Actually, no. My prom...well, something came up." He didn't give any more details. It was enough, "To be honest, one reason I accepted this was cause I wanted to look at something...normal, even for just a bit."

"Really? Thought it might've been cause you liked me." Her laugh reminded him of MJ.

"Well, that too." That...sounded much smoother in his head, "Speaking of, what do you mean earlier by publicity?"

"Oh, that," her mouth dipped down, "I'm an actress. Nothing big or anything, and I'm definitely not as big a name as you or Spider-Woman, but mom thought that-"

"If you showed up with Spider-Man that you might get a boost." Patsy nodded and actually looked guilty, "Um, well...I get it, I guess, but you could've just told me. Here I thought you just wanted to take a few pictures so you can brag in college about hiring a Superhero."

"Well, that too." She winked and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her grin returning, "Sorry for tricking you, but I really did want to meet Spider-Man. I was there when that Green Goblin guy was chucking bombs everywhere. You saved me."

"It wasn't just me. Gw- Spider-Woman was there too."

"Sure, but when that guy and his bots were chasing us you were the first one to come to the rescue."

"Yeah, but she was the one who stopped the bomb-"

"Just take the compliment, Spider Guy." She giggled. Peter found a lot of the tension in his chest drain away. The slow music and Karen choosing not to interrupt actually made it feel nice, "So..." Her fingers brushed against the side of his mask and pulled it up slowly till his mouth was exposed, "Could I see you again after this? Outside of a job?"

"Um...I dunno. Do you just want more publicity?"

"Nope, I'm thinking something more private.

She was going to kiss him, "She's going to kiss you, Peter," Karen 'helpfully' pitched in, "I won't judge you, but please consider the circumstances."

He pulled back. Patsy's eyes were wide and hurt when his hands suddenly released their grip, "I, uh, should probably check around the place. You know, do my my  _job_."

"Oh...sure. Good idea."

The rest of the alotted time was spent standing awkwardly in the corner and humoring the occasional request for pictures while he watched Patsy's table. He didn't know her at all, he wasn't even sure what shows she'd been on, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling more than a little guilty. Maybe she really was just a fan, but still. He'd been there before with Mr. Stark, kinda. Not the kissing, but definitely trying to make an impression on someone he looked up to.

Their goodbye was painfully awkward. She paid him the money and said she was going out with her friends so he didn't have to look out for her anymore. Peter pocketed the money and tried not to feel too much like a jerk when he finally managed to swing away. It was close to midnight now and he was anything but needed something to take his mind off it.

His wish was granted when his phone suddenly rang and he saw Gwen's unmasked face on his lens, "Hey, Pete, you done?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yup. Managed to catch the thieves early. Spider-sense helped." She grinned and he found himself grinning back, "I'm getting some pizza. You wanna join me?"

"Even gotta ask? Send me the address."

15 minutes later he and Gwen sat next to each other without masks on the edge of a high building with a pizza box between them, "To a job well done," Gwen laughed and tapped her slice of pizza against his. If there was one thing he never got tired of as Spider-Man, it was the view. New York at night from on high was definitely a gorgeous sight.

"So how was your first Hero for Hire job?"

"Pretty good, actually. There was one asshole who thought I was a freak and didn't want me there cause he figured the thefts were somehow my fault, but apart from that it was good."

"Who was stealing?"

"You won't believe this: it was their kids." She shook her head, "Yep, three teenagers. The head of the committee's daughter was the ringleader of their little gang. Thank God she was too busy listening to her headphones to pay attention to what her dad was saying or she would've just not stole tonight. I really didn't want to waste those people's money if they had to hire me again."

"So...what's gonna happen to em?"

"I dunno. My guess? My guess? A solid grounding and an apology. Doubt they'll be going to juvie even if they stole, like, thousands of dollars worth of stuff. Seriously, one laptop isn't even out here yet." She paused, "How was your gig?"'

"Oh, good. Made 800." He bit down into his pizza awkwardly.

"What, nothing else to say about your date?" Was it just his imagination or did she seem kinda annoyed? ...Nah, just his imagination.

"She was doing it for publicity." She raised a brow and urged him to continue, "Apparently she's an actress and her mom thought that if she showed up at prom with Spider-Man it'd be real good for her career."

"Wow, and I thought it'd be a while before we get those kinds of requests." She rolled her eyes and took another (annoyed?) bite of her pizza, "Anything else?"

He didn't know what possessed him to say what he said next.

"She tried to kiss me." Gwen paused, mouth open and and pizza halfway up, and just looked at him. It took him a while to realize that she was waiting for him to continue, "Uh, I didn't kiss her, though. She was...um, I backed off."

"Oh..." She set the pizza down on the box and looked ahead, her expression unreadable, "...Why didn't you? Was it cause of MJ?"

"I...I dunno." He set his own slice down and put the box away. He got the feeling neither of them were hungry now, "After my date with MJ she said that she was fine going out, but an actual relationship was off the table. She said that she tried the long distance thing with an old boyfriend?"

"Oh yeah, David. Yeah, he moved to L.A when we were 18. They actually lasted a few months, but after a while...I guess they just got distant." She shrugged, "If it wasn't MJ, why'd you back off? Was it-"

"Why are you acting like we didn't do anything?"

A long, awkward silence settled over the pair. Peter cringed and tried to ignore his heart racing against his chest. Maybe there was a better way to do it, but Gwen pretending like the kiss two nights ago didn't happened weighed in at the back of his mind. It would've been one thing if she said it didn't mean anything; at least then she would've acknowledged it happened.

Gwen sighed and looked down, "I just...didn't know how to bring it up. I mean, what was I gonna say? 'So Pete, about us making out after you got injured'." She laughed wryly, "It's just...I'm not good at this whole relationship thing. I never dated anyone, unless you count my long and sordid affair with corndogs. Being Spider-Woman just...it took all my focus. Who had time for a relationship with people calling me a murderer?"

"Well...they're not calling a you a murderer now."

"Yeah, now they're just trying to see when I'll fuck up next. I feel like the one sane Kardashian." She closed her eyes briefly and turned to face him again, "Just...I dunno, Pete. I've been worrying about so many things lately and you've got your whole dimensional thing to worry about so I-"

Peter leaned forward and kissed her. It was clumsy, he wasn't afraid to admit that. He was angled wrong and he was pretty sure he crushed the pizza box with how quickly he did it. Gwen's eyes widened at the sudden contact and for a single, fleeting second he thought that she would push him off the building.

Instead she closed her eyes and reciprocated the gesture. It was a bit more... _more_  than before. There wasn't any tongue or anything like those crazy R18 movies Uncle Ben snuck him to when he was younger, but it was definitely different from the slight contact two nights prior. Now he felt the pressure of her lips against his, felt her right arm clumsily wrapped around his shoulders to pull him close.

Eventually they both pulled back to get some air, "...Wow," Gwen said softly, almost unheard despite how close they both were, "That...was not what I was expecting."

"Yeah, me too."

"Um... _you_  kissed  _me_. You don't get to pull that." She punched his shoulder and smiled. He smiled back, "But, I'm still not sure what this means, Pete. I mean, two kisses aren't what a relationship make. And between everything we're going through I'm...I'm just still not sure."

"Hey, I get it. I mean, I'm not... _exactly_  sure what this is either, but I know it's something." God, he was messing this up, "But...I do think you're cool and-and hot and you make being a superhero look easy and-"

She clapped his shoulder to stop his rambling, "Yeah, Pete, I get it." She rolled her eyes good naturedly and looked forward, legs swinging idly, "Well...I do think you're pretty cool to, and you pull off the red and blues really well." A blush crept up his cheeks at that, "Maybe we could shelve it, at least for tonight? I need to get some advice to deal with our 'thing', but right now I really wanna get some good old fashioned heroing done."

"Whatever happened to keeping a low profile?" He asked with a smirk.

Gwen laughed and stood, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Cap's already preparing to ream me for the website. Might as well go all in." She looked down at him and winked just before the mask covered her face again, "Race you back to Queens!"

She turned and let herself fall backfirst, "Ah, hey!" He grabbed the pizza box with one hand (no sense in wasting it) and put on his mask with the other before jumping down after her, "Hey, wait up!"

She looked back and waved, "Catch me if you can, Spidey!"

Peter laughed, and for the first time in a while he didn't worry about what would come next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was definitely one of my lighter chapters. It feels kinda odd considering it's after Peter finds out Earth-19999 just got massively fucked, but this was never really meant to be a serious fic. I'm also still unsure of the leads being open to the idea of a relationship so quickly, but readers have made it clear they'd be all for it so why the heck not? Let's see if it blows up in our faces.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. How far do you guys think I should take the romance scenes? In Looking Glass the leads very clearly have sex, but that fits the tone of the story and their characters. I wonder if I can pull off the same here or it'd be too much since, while Gwen is 20, Peter's a 17 year old cinnamon roll and people might find it odd/creepy if he does anything r18.
> 
> Note I don't mean 'do I write sex scenes or not?', cause I'm not gonna, I mean if character-wise the two do more than kissing even if it's only referred to.


	13. Get a Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Managed this in a day due to a lull at work. It's somewhat shorter than my usual work, but I figure it work out since I updated another fic a day ago. I'll probably wait for the new Spider-Gwen to come out on the 13th so I can get a better idea on some stuff.

A couple of weeks passed and they'd settled into a routine. Every day they'd check over the job listing and see what was reasonable. They mostly screened the pointless ones like those blatantly asking for dates or people who wanted to pay for a week straight of 12 hour work a day, though they did take a few for laughs. One guy wanted them at his comic shop for a couple of hours just to pose and ask questions, which was harmless and fun enough.

There were a few requests that Gwen legitimately wasn't sure if she was supposed to take it seriously or not. One guy wanted to hire her for a strip routine (blocked) and another was an old lady old enough to be her grandma who wanted to set her up with 'her dashing father' (gross, and also blocked). Peter seemed to find the latter funny, though much less so after she reminded him of Patsy Walker and their 'date'.

And then came the entitled ones.

She knew they'd come sooner or later, but people asking for her to beat up people they didn't like for free made her almost trip when she saw it. Sure, she wasn't going to be a rent-a-thug even if they paid her, but it was still a jolt. Probably didn't help that trying to explain that she was not, in fact, an attack dog led to numerous complaints about

"Woah, look at this one." Betty pointed at the laptop screen. They were at the couch with Betty at the center, Gwen to her left and Peter to her right. It was a morning tradition at this point, "1 star rating. This so-called 'Superhero' is just a money grubbing- woah, not gonna say that word cause it's not nice." Betty rolled her eyes and deleted said word, "Is just a money grubbing bad word who only helps those who can pay for it. Why do people call her a hero again?"

"Wasn't that the guy who demanded you beat up some hobos cause they were dirty?" Peter asked.

"Yep. When I told him I wasn't gonna do that he went  _ballistic_  and said they were 'dirtying his neighborhood' and that I  _had_ to do it. Guess with a username like 'The Elite' you really can't expect much." Gwen rolled her eyes. She might've understood if said hobos attacked him or something, but no. Apparently his sensitive widdle eyes just couldn't take seeing someone 'so disgusting' in his neighborhood. Jerk.

"Here's another goodie." Betty clicked on the link, "This guy's offering you to work at his pizzeria. No upfront price and salary's below minimum wage, cause 'you don't need that much money anyway since you can just swing everywhere'. Yeesh, we really need to start getting a filter on these guys." She deleted the request.

"I could whip something up, but we're always so busy..." Peter mumbled. That was true - if they weren't taking jobs then they were swinging around the city going from one crime to the next. Shadowcat still hadn't contacted them again, so she just assumed that S.H.I.E.L.D was taking their sweet time interrogating that Tinkerer guy. Impostor Goblin hadn't shown up at all, so she was fine with waiting.

Most of her work tended to be bodyguarding or searching for missing stuff, which was fine with her. A lot of the time she didn't even need to be that close. One time a bank actually hired her to help guard an armored car after they got a threat from the (new) Sinister Six about how they were gonna jack it. Worked out pretty well: robbery was foiled, all four (they weren't even trying to be accurate at that point) of the Six were in prison and she got a good review.

Peter was better at publicity. Comic shops, rides and even a visit to a children's hospital (that one he refused payment on). She joined him on a few of the latter ones, and she had to admit it was nice seeing those kids' faces light up when they saw them was really nice. She was still kinda skeevy on the site, but at least it allowed groups like Make a Wish to contact them easier.

Peter quit his job at the Dollar Dog and she decided to take a break from college, at least for a bit. It was nice, not having to worry about Professor Warren staring at her in class or her classmates trying to pull favors from 'Spider-Gwen'. Her dad was kinda put off at first, though when he saw the site he'd accepted it. Helped that she assured him the break was temporary. She wasn't planning to make this a career or anything.

"Hey, what's that one?" Peter pointed to a post and Betty clicked it.

Right then and there she should've known it was trouble. It had all the signs - 50 dollars for 2 hours to bodyguard two kids (not even close to enough) and, of course, a well-rehearsed sob story of being a single mother who was struggling to pay the bills. She knew she shouldn't have accepted - she'd seen way too many requests like this elsewhere and they  _never_  ended well. Maybe it was because she knew from her dad how hard being a single parent was, or maybe it was cause she'd been riding high on those kids' smiles from yesterday, but she accepted the job and even did it gratis.

Big mistake.

Gwen landed in front of the two story house (so much for struggling...) and rang the doorbell. Almost immediately a pitbull came charging at the door barking, "Woah, boy! I'm a friend!" She held up both hands and stepped back to avoid getting slobber on her costume.

The dog kept barking till eventually a woman stepped out and whistled. She was an older woman, probably early to mid 40's, and slightly heavyset with long brown hair tied up in a bun. Her clothes really didn't scream 'struggling single mom' unless you thought those sitcoms were really accurate, "Finally! You're late!" she cried out.

"Sorry about that, there was-"

"I don't care. Just get inside before they get rowdy." She practically stormed out like Gwen had personally spit on her cornflakes.

That should've been her one and only warning to get the hell out of there, especially since it wasn't like she was getting paid for this, but she shouldered on. Maybe the kids would be different.

Warning sign two: the woman lied about her kid's age.

She was explicitly told she'd be guarding (read: babysitting) a 5 and 7 year old. The man, who looked to be about 20, looked way too old to be 7 and way too young to be the so-called deadbeat father, "Hey, good lookin." He leered at her. Gwen cringed, "Took your sweet time, didn't ya?'

"Yeah...there was a crime on the way." Guy stealing an old lady's purse. Couldn't beat the classics, "So...where are the kids?"

"You're lookin' at im, beautiful." Could he just...stop? Please? "My little bro's upstairs playin' one of his games game." As if on cue, a very loud 'motherfucker!' came from the top of the stairs. That didn't sound like a kid either.

"Right, uh...how old are you two?"

"I'm 21, he's 16. Name's Alex, by the way."

"Right...well, I was told I'd be watching a couple of kids. 5 and 7 year old. Ring any bells?"

"Those are my cousins. They left a couple days ago."

"Huh, so I guess that means you don't really need me here."

"You took the job, doll. Two hours."

He leaned forward with that same grin. She slipped past him to the living room. Yeah, she was definitely just gonna ignore  _that_ , "Look, let's just get through this easy. I'm gonna ignore the fact that your mom lied to me and just finish the two hours because I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. So can we please-"

He slapped her ass.

She turned around and just stared at him. A part of her expected him to at least look sheepish, but he was the very picture of confidence, "Been wantin' to do that since you came in." He whistled briefly, "Now, what else are you hidin' under that hood-"

She webbed his mouth shut. His eyes widened and she pushed past him back to the entrance. He screamed something from behind her, but she didn't care. That was what she got for trying to do something good.

She got a 1 star review when she got back.

* * *

She was going to  _kill_  Betty when she got out of here.

The next job was recommended by her. 2000 dollars for half a day from a girl who 'wanted her powers for a day.' They all thought that it was just a fancy way of saying she needed a bodyguard.

_Boy_ , were they wrong.

"What do you mean you can't give them to me?!" The girl was a couple of years younger than her, maybe 17 or 18, with dark blonde hair and tan skin. That should've been a giant warning sign already - 2000 dollars from a teenager without any parent in sight? Way too suspicious, "I told you I wanted your powers so give them to me! I paid for them!"

"You said you just needed me to stick around for 4 hours!" People were looking at them now, but she didn't care. She was getting tired of this BS, "What even made you think that I could give you powers?!"

"Well you weren't born with em, so you must've gotten them at some point, so you can give them to me for a bit!" she said, looking at Gwen like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Come on, just give it! I promise I'll give them back!" She stamped her foot.

"Look, lady, even if I wanted to I couldn't! It doesn't work that way!" The spider was dead - she'd slapped it to the floor herself years ago. Gwen was almost tempted to make a barb about Ms. Carla King looking around to see if she could eat it and maybe she'd get lucky, but she reined it in, "I'm sorry if this isn't what you're looking for, so just take your money back and-"

"Ugh, this is so unfair!" She stamped her foot again, "You don't even deserve those powers, so just give em to me!" Was this girl deaf or just dumb? "You're not even supposed to be out here! You should still be in prison for killing that giant lizard!"

It took everything Gwen had to not sock the girl in her smug, smarmy face. Instead she took a deep breath, threw her cash on the ground and swung away without another word. King shouted after her about being selfish and entitled, but Gwen blocked her out. She was tired. In two jobs flat any and all goodwill she had about the site had evaporated and now she wanted nothing more than to close it down to avoid more entitled pricks.

Her bad mood lessened slightly when she got a text from Peter, "At the usual place." She smiled. It was their thing ever since they started - every couple of days they'd meet up at the place where they got pizza and pig out while complaining about the terribad jobs they took. Usually it was just something slight like someone just wanting a few minutes overtime. Not like this.

There were burgers and shakes waiting for her. Her mouth curled up in a smile and she sat next to him, retracting her mask as she did, "Bad day?" He asked, a sympathetic look on his face. They were high up enough that he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing them.

"You dunno the half of it." She unwrapped the burger and took a generous bite, "This chick thought I could give her my powers for a day like it's a fucking bike or something. Tried to tell her that I couldn't and she just  _explodes_ , whining that 'she paid for it' and that 'I don't even deserve them'," she said, shifting her voice to a more mocking tone, "Just threw her cash away and left. Wanted to punch her in the face too, but being an ass isn't actually a crime."

She wasn't going to mention the crack about Peter. Better if she didn't bring it up.

"I've seen you save dozens of people. If anyone deserves it, it's you." She blushed slightly. Getting praised so openly was still a bit of a new thing for her, "What about the job yesterday? You just crashed back home and didn't want to talk."

Home...he'd started calling it that she didn't even know how long ago. Gwen doubted he even noticed, but it was...nice. She figured that the longer he stayed here the more he'd just wanna leave. He did still wanna go back, of course, but this wasn't the prison she thought it'd be for him.

They spent the next hour just talking about whatever came to mind. She was glad to hear that Peter's jobs went better than hers, though there was a dad who wanted him to date her daughter, which he very gracefully refused, "This is fun," Peter said, "I was actually thinking about, like, making a facebook back home so people could contact Spider-Man, but I never got around to it."

"Probably for the best. People are assholes on the net." They were outside of it too, but it was easier hiding behind a mask, "...Hey, when you get back and kick that big purple dude's ass, promise you'll keep contact, okay? I...like these hangouts we have."

"Y-Yeah, me too." She tried not to think about the red on his cheeks, "Listen, I was...uh, gonna go hang out with the other Spider guys for a bit, actually. Wanna come with?"

"Oh, uh, I'll catch up. I...actually have someone I wanna talk to."

They said their goodbyes and Gwen activated her portal watch as soon as he was out of sight. Peter just gave her an idea.

She couldn't talk to many people about her and Peter's...thing. Betty would go crazy, Glory would be overprotective and MJ...well, she didn't know what the redhead would do, but she didn't want to give her any ammo against her. She couldn't talk to Mayday, Jess or Cindy either - Mayday would've been grossed out, Jess was on vacay and Cindy...well, ten years in a bunker made Gwen not so confident in asking for relationship(?) advice.

So why not ask herself?

She found two of her and Peni in their own little group at the 'common room'. Ballerina Gwen (she was bad with names, sue her) looked up and waved her over, "Oh, hey, been a while since you went here." She was sitting next to the Spider-Gwen with a snake on her shoulder while Peni stood up on the chair. The girl was unbelievably short.

"Yeah, been kinda busy." She took one of the chairs and stared at the second Gwen. She was the one talking to the guy with the pistols, "Don't think we've met. I'm Gwen Stacy." She stuck her hand out and grinned.

"What a coincidence, me too." Mirror Gwen grinned back and shook her hand. They looked almost identical to one another, age and all, "Oh, and this is Webster." She gestured to the baby snake thing.

**"Hello."**

"Hey." Gwen didn't bother freaking out; she'd seen way weirder at this point, "So...I need some advice." She thought she'd just ask herself, but she didn't mind Peni being there. The more the merrier.

"Please tell me it's not about Matt Murderdock?" Mirror Gwen groaned.

"What, that guy? Nah, I beat him like a year ago." Other Gwen seemed honestly surprised at that, "It's nothing heavy, I promise. I just...I guess I need relationship advice?"

"Ooh, girl talk!" Peni cheered and sat down on the chair, legs swinging idly. The spider on her shoulder raised its head in a weirdly adorable way, "I never have these back home! No one wants to talk to the girl with the spider on her shoulder! Tell us everything!"

"Indoor voice, Peni," Ballerina Gwen chided lightly, "Anyway, I'm not really sure I'm the best for this. I'm not really good at this kind of stuff."

"What about Miles~?" Peni said, dragging the name out teasingly.

"Wh-What about him? We're just friends." Ballerina Gwen blushed. It was an odd look, seeing it on a younger her.

"Yeah, and all the holding hands and promising to hang out just the two of you? Totally just platonic there." Mirror Gwen snorted. The snake tilted its head to the side, "I dunno why you're denying it. You two are cute together."

"I'm not denying anything cause we're just friends!" Yeah...she knew herself enough when she was talking a load of BS, "A-Anyway, this isn't about me! It's about her!"

"Technically three of us here are Gwen, so that could really go anywhere," Mirror Gwen said.

"Don't be a smartass," Ballerina Gwen said. Her tone had leveled back into something confident again, "So, seriously, what's your deal? You said you needed help?"

"Right, well..." Gwen wrung her hands together nervously, "Um...I told her," she gestured to the youngest Gwen, "About my newest housemate."

"Yeah, what about-" BG paused, "Wait, are you two-"

"No...well, maybe?" Gwen groaned, "I...I don't know. We've kissed a couple of times, but the first was kind of a heat of the moment thing and the second one was cause the mood was really good and-"

"Alright, alright, slow down!" BG raised a hand to cut her off, "Let's start from the beginning one last time."

So she told them everything. Meeting Peter all those weeks ago, all the crap they had to deal with, that warehouse explosion...everything. Peni seemed enamored, eyes wide and honest to god squealing when she told them about the kiss.

"Ooh, it's like those romance stories my mom and I used to watch!" Gwen almost turned away from the sheer brightness of Peni's smile, "Speaking of, I should go and tell dad- uh, Benjamin about those!"

"...Did you just call Ben dad?" BG raised an eyebrow and Gwen could already see the grin forming at the realization she had some leverage over the other girl.

"No, I didn't!"

"Oh, I definitely heard that!" BG's grin was full force now "I can't wait to tell the others about this!"

"N-No, don't! He'll freak out!" The spider chomped its mandibles to match its owners panic.

"Guys, I think we're getting off track," MG said, "Alright, so you and Peter - really need to start labeling these guys - made out and you're not really sure what you're supposed to do now. That about sum it up?"

"I guess so..." It sounded so petty when she said it like that, "I just...I've never dated before. Never. I got my powers when I was 15 and after that I was just too busy to even  _think_ about going on dates or anything." Then there was the year of prison, which she didn't even want to think about. Thankfully no one tried to get fresh in the showers.

...Though, that was mostly cause they were busy beating the crap out of her.

"A lot of us Spiders don't get to date much for obvious reasons," MG said, "Let's go back a bit. Is there a reason you don't wanna date him?"

"Two main ones come to mind." Gwen let out a slow breath, "He's kinda trapped in my place now and his home's not in the best shape. I'm not sure if having that hanging over our heads if we try anything's a good idea. That and when we fix whatever's happening back in his place he's gonna want to go home."

"Dimensional travel's pretty simple now that we've improved the transporters," Peni said, "Isn't it just like taking a bus to see someone?"

"Maybe? I dunno, I've never dated anyone outside my own universe before." No, she didn't count that kiss with Miles. That was another heat of the moment thing and he was dating someone else from his own universe now, "Still, you know how busy we can all be. MJ tried the long distance thing and it didn't work out for her, and she doesn't even have Spider powers. What chance do I got?"

"It...sounds like you're doubting yourself more than any kind of relationship," BG said slowly.

"Am I?"

"Sounds like it," MG clapped her shoulder reassuringly, "Hey, I know what it's like, trust me. Back home me and Pete...well, did  _not_ have an easy go of it. Lot of arguments, lot of just...blowing up at each other. Sometimes I thought it would've been better if we just stayed away." She smiled bitterly, "But...we didn't, and I'm not saying it's perfect or anything, but I'm still glad I didn't just give up and think 'better not'."

"Wait, are you talking about the guy who had guns out before?" BG asked.

"Yeah...that's something we're dealing with."

"And you think that it's worth it?" Gwen asked hopefully.

MG nodded, "Yeah. Better to try, right? I mean...getting a bit personal here, but all three of us were blamed for something we didn't do." They all had varying expressions of discomfort while Peni put a small hand on BG's shoulder, "I'm guessing all three of us felt like throwing the suit into the harbor, but we didn't. We tried and tried and tried. If you can do that, why can't you just try with this?"

"Because I don't wanna lose him," Gwen said, voice louder than she intended, "Being Spider-Woman was my choice and it was just me. What if...What if we try and it doesn't work? Can we just...pretend that it's not going to be awkward?"

Peni was the one to break the silence that followed, "Being Spider-Woman wasn't just about you." Gwen met the younger girl's eyes, "If you got hurt or caught or killed, then your friends and family would've had to deal with it. You would've left them behind..." She tightened her hold on her backpack straps, "Maybe I'm too young for this stuff, but I think you should give it a go. Real friends won't abandon each other even if it gets messed up."

"I'm with Peni," BG said, "Why not give it a shot? I mean, Lord knows we need to take whatever we can get."

"Does that mean you're finally gonna ask out Miles?" Peni asked. Her bright smile returned in full force.

"Uh, this is about her, not me- and I swear to god if you make another comment about the three of us being the same I will hurt you." BG gave MG a halfhearted glare while the older Gwen put her hands up in amused surrender.

"Huh...thanks, that actually helps a lot." Gwen smiled, "I...I guess I should talk to Peter."

"Good luck. I know from experience that dating another Spider isn't easy," MG said. Gwen felt sympathetic, though maybe that was cause they looked like twins, "Speaking of which, I think I overheard Spider-Ham saying they were going to give someone love advice. Do you think it's the same Peter you're talking about?"

"Uh...no. I mean, what are the chances?"

* * *

"So...I just ask her out?"

Ham nodded enthusiastically while Noir sighed nearby. He'd called them a day ago to ask for advice, though only Spider-Ham really seemed into the idea. Noir mostly just disapproved in the background while UK seemed somewhat perturbed at Ham's gusto.

"Yep! Trust me, kid, being willing to take charge is an attractive trait." Ham nodded confidently, "So here's what you do. You get the setting just right - I recommend a good, brightly colored room with just a hint of trumpet music in the background. After that you give her all the signs. I'm talking hearts in your eyes, a little floatin' and maybe even an 'awooga!' here or there."

"Uh...I can't do any of that." Maybe the awooga, but something told him Gwen wouldn't be a fan.

"Huh...oh, yeah, I forgot about that." Spider-Ham visibly (and literally) deflated, "So...what can you do?"

"This is a waste of time." Noir threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped it flat, "I don't get the point of this. I thought you wanted to go home? That was the entire point of us making those trips into that place where people got turned to dust." Peter winced. The blunt reminder felt like a punch to the face, "Now you're telling me you want to, what, stay here?"

"No..." Peter brought a hand through his hair nervously, "But I mean, they're not mutually exclusive, right? Why can't I date Gwen and go back?"

"Seems like hassle to me." Noir scoffed.

"We're not here to pass judgement, Peter," Spider-UK said, "I'd also like to remind you that cross-dimensional relationships are, in fact, a possibility. My and Lady Reilly's courtship is quite healthy." Peter smiled. He appreciated the help...even if Billy was dating a version of his aunt.

"Sure, but you've basically moved into her world when you're not over at the base. The kid ain't the same." Noir shook his head, "But fine, guessing reason ain't on the agenda today, so let's help the kid with his crush."

"So...do you have any advice, Noir?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"I'm old fashioned. I'd suggest you ask her out to a hootenanny, but I doubt you have those around here." Considering he didn't even know what that was, he was guessing no, "Why don't you just ask her out, then? No messing around. Stacy doesn't seem like the type to be into classic romance so just do what's fun for both of you and see where it goes."

"Wow...I can see your heart growing three sizes there, Noir," Ham said. Noir scowled at him, "Oops, nevermind, it's shrinking back to pea size. It was nice while it lasted."

"Don't make me grill you over the file, porky."

"You wanna try, tall, black and white and broody? I'm right here."

"Please, let's not fight. We're here for Spider-Man's sake." Spider-UK got between them with a disarming smile, "My advice for your would be to simply do what comes naturally. Courtship rituals aren't a universal standard and what one might find charming another might find repulsive. If you're reasonably certain of Ms. Stacy's feelings then let it come naturally."

"That's what I'm worried about." Peter stepped down from the vent roof, "I'm...I'm pretty sure we both like each other, but it feels like there's something like a wall. Every time I think about talking about it it's like my tongue bloats up and I can't say anything. Betty's kinda noticed it too. Sometimes she talks to me or Gwen what the deal is and we can't answer."

"Wait, something I'm confused about. I thought you liked Mary Jane Watson?" Noir asked.

"I did. I mean, I do; she's a good friend." She just didn't want anything more than that. Which he was totally cool with, by the way. She was cool, he was cool, they were all cool.

"Huh...you move on fast." This time it felt like a punch in the gut.

"Ah, leave the kid alone! We can't all be old fashioned and pining like you!" Spider-Ham said, "He tried dating her, it didn't work out and he's moving on. What's the big deal?"

"You know, every time you talk I feel like I'm hearing nails on a chalkboard."

"And I think that's our cue to leave!" UK said in a rush, "Best of luck to you, Mr. Parker. Don't hesitate to call on us for aid should you need it."

"Yeah, sure..." Peter watched them leave through a portal and put on his mask again, "That wasn't helpful at all."

"I don't know. I think Spider-Ham's advice has merit," Karen chimed in his ear, "Why didn't you ask me for advice, Peter? I was hurt."

"Don't start, Karen." He sighed and swung back home. Gwen was probably back by now.

"It's a legitimate question."

"Cause I knew what you'd say. You'd just tell me that I should go in there, take off my mask and kiss Gwen right in the lips. Right?"

"I would've also suggested doing it upside down-"

"Karen." He used a water tower as a spring, "Look, this isn't as simple as just asking someone out on a date, alright? She's...Gwen is..." Amazing, brave, confident, daring...he could probably go through the entire alphabet, "I just don't wanna mess this up, okay? I owe her a lot and if we screw this up then..." Then he might lose her even as a friend. He couldn't take that.

"You need to be more confident, Peter. You're a sweet and brave young man but you keep putting yourself down. Gwen cares about you and you care about her. There's no shame in it."

"I'm not ashamed, I'm just..." He paused and forced himself to continue, "I'm scared. I know it's dumb. I mean, I went to space with Mr. Stark and fought aliens, but this...it's so  _hard_ , Karen."

"I understand. Just do what you think is best, Peter."

She didn't say anything the entire trip back. Peter opened the window to Gwen's place and arrived at the living room just when the blue portal opened and Gwen stepped out. The two of them stared at each other awkwardly, "Uh...hey," Peter pulled off his mask. He probably looked bad, windswept and sweaty and all, "You, uh, went to Loomworld?"

"Yeah, talked to some friends." She kicked at the ground lightly, "How...How was chatting with the guys?"

"Oh, it was cool. Just...talking. Guy stuff, you know..."

"Yeah- I mean, same thing. Girl stuff, spider stuff..."

"I know-"

"Oh for god's sake, get a room, you two!"

Both of them jumped and turned to the couch to find an irate Betty with Murderface on her lap. Both of them were glaring at the pair, "Betty?! What the fuck, how long have you been there?!" Gwen screamed, a hand to her chest.

"From the start of time," she said flatly, "Not the point. Could you just.. _do something_  about this thing you guys have? Cause I've been the third wheel for two weeks now and it's getting pretty old. I'm literally choking on the sexual tension in the air."

"Sexual tension?" Peter's entire face turned red.

"I must agree with Ms. Brant, Peter. It is rather palpable," Karen piped up in speaker mode, "Might I suggest we leave and let the pair sort it out, Ms. Brant?"

"My pleasure."

Betty pushed them both into the (rather small) bedroom, took Karen from his hands and locked the door behind them. It was a hollow threat - both of them were more than strong enough to break the door down with their pinky - but the message was clear. They weren't getting out till they sorted this...thing.

He and Gwen just...looked at each other. The silence stretched on for seconds and eventually Peter thought that he'd just scream to block it all out

And then Gwen started laughing.

It was soft at first, more giggles than anything, and then it belted on to full out laughter. Peter stared at her like she'd gone insane before he smiled and started laughing with her. It was so stupid. After everything that happened, why was he so scared of the woman in front of him? He knew Gwen. Even if he messed up she wouldn't just cut off contact, not like...like...

Why did he think of Liz? It wasn't his fault she had to move away or that Mr. Toomes was in prison. He made the choice to steal, to put people in danger. He tried to give him a chance and he squandered it. He shouldn't have felt guilty.

"That's Betty for you, I guess," Gwen said, slightly breathless, "Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like an idiot?"'

"No, no. I definitely feel like an idiot too."

"Heh...good."

They kissed again. This time there was no hesitation or being scared of what came after.

Peter woke up at the bed hours later, "Gwen?" There was a sticky note taped to the chest of his costume. He picked up and smiled at the letters,  _'Had to check on dad. Let's go out tomorrow. Goodnight.'_

He stood up and stretched his stiff limbs before leaving the (now-unlocked) room. Betty was asleep on the couch and Peter took the mask back from her hands, "Was it resolved, Peter?" Karen sounded very smug right now.

"Yeah, I think so. We're...going on a date tomorrow." He looked out the window. It was night out, but he could do with some patrolling.

It didn't take long for him to find something worth stopping for, "Are those...ninjas?" He landed on the pole and Karen zoomed in. Yep, those were definitely ninjas with katanas. He counted at least four of them and they were surrounding a bleeding guy in a suit and a walking cane. Peter's eyes narrowed. What kind of people beat up on a blind guy?

After the robots with lightsabers the ninjas were pretty easy to deal with. Peter webbed the last ninja to the wall and rushed to the kneeling man in the suit, "Are you alright? Do you need to go the hospital?"

"It's...worse than it looks," he said softly, "Thanks. I've been...running from them for a while." He looked up and managed a smile despite the blood that ran down his nose. He was definitely blind, "You seem...familiar."

"I'm Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man? Ha...fate does have a funny way of things." His smile widened, showing off his bloodstained teeth, "My name's Matt Murdock...and I'm assuming you'll soon regret saving me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, time to get back to some actual plot! And for anyone worrying, don't worry. Unlike Looking Glass I don't plan to have more than one main plot. Matt Murdock is still tied to the Goblin Impostor arc rather than having to jockey for attention. That and I don't really want him as a giant antagonist since canon and LG already did that and because he's of no threat to Gwen now. He's more a test of Gwen's character along with MCU Peter's.
> 
> Anyway, on the bright side the two leads are together now with no ducking around the issue for 50 chapters. This is really fast for me, but it's what the readers want and it fits the tone of the fic.
> 
> Question:
> 
> 1\. More a curiosity than anything else, but would you guys be interested in a Miles/Gwen spiderverse fic or a reversal where Gwen gets stuck in the MCU? The latter seems to be a semi-frequent request in some places.


	14. Talking like healthy human beings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this took a while. This chapter needed some major re-writing. I'll explain at the ending Author's notes, but let's just say I had to chunk out 3000 words and that really put me off from updating for a while. Hopefully the next chapter will come faster since it'll be much lighter in feeling.
> 
> Anyway, 14 days till Endgame :D After that I can start adding some more MCU characters for the fic and decide if I wanna follow Endgame's plot exactly or completely branch off to make this its own thing.
> 
> Oh, and since some people were confused: No, Gwen and MCU did not have sex in the last chapter. Peter was mentioned as still wearing his full costume sans mask and unless they did it right through the underoos, I think it's safe to say that cherry hasn't been popped yet.

So...he was having soda with Gwen's arch-enemy.

Peter sipped at the still far too sweet soda and clicked his heels against the surface of the billboard. The same billboard that had Peter Parker's face in it just a few months ago. According to Gwen after she went to prison - which he still couldn't believe anyone would do to someone like her - Mayor Jameson went on an about face because he didn't want to acknowledge that he'd jumped the gun and blamed a grieving woman for murdering her own best friend.

So, now the billboard was just about some kind of soda that probably led to the rise of diabetes cases.

"You're very quiet, Mr. Parker." Matt Murderdock (to quote Gwen) said idly. He sat next to Peter a fair distance away, one hand holding onto a can of soda and the other twirling his bloodstained walking stick idly. He'd been the one to suggest to Peter the idea of getting a drink together as payment for saving his life. He'd was too shocked to do anything else but nod along.

"Well...this is a pretty weird situation." Peter said eventually.

"Oh? How so? We're just two people sharing a drink while sitting on top of a billboard and at risk from falling due to an errant wind. I thought that was what the kids were into nowadays?"

"I wouldn't know." Peter shrugged awkwardly. This was... _wrong_. If Gwen knew he was here she would've freaked out. He knew enough about Gwen after weeks of living with her to know that she was overprotective to a fault. It was difficult to see sometimes, but it was definitely there: she'd always enter rooms first and take a quick glance around, she'd check in on her friends every couple of hours under the guise of being bored, and bailed on at least one job when Betty needed her help (turned out it was just to bathe Murderface).

And then there were the spiders.

He noticed them a couple of weeks in. At first he thought that the apartment just had an infestation problem and he didn't say anything; he and Aunt May dealt with the same for a while. But then he noticed they were everywhere from Gwen's band practice to being on MJ's shoulder (which she either didn't notice or care about) when she went out on a food run.

He asked Betty about it later and told him it was how Gwen kept an eye on them. He didn't know the exact science - he was interested, but Gwen didn't know so he couldn't her - but from what he gathered they were basically organic sensors like the automated spider bots Pavitr made to keep track of the web in Loomworld. Sometimes she saw Gwen nodding off and it didn't take long to figure that was her keeping an ear open.

So far he hadn't gotten any on him, though he chalked that up to the fact that he could take care of himself. That and he doubted those things could stick around if he went webswinging.

"You're not as talkative as you seem on the television." Murderdock (sounded like a hashtag) took a sip of of his soda and hummed, "Of course that could be simply because you don't like me. Am I correct?"

"Kinda?" God, this was  _so_  weird, "I mean, you never did anything to me, but I heard about you from Gwen." Murderer, criminal Kingpin, the reason her dad went into a coma, the guy who tried to turn her to the dark side...there was a lot of baggage there; and that was with Gwen giving him the cliff notes version. He was sure the guy did a lot more, "Pretty sure I should be taking you to prison."

"On what charges?" He tilted his head and smiled, "Technically speaking there's no warrant out for my arrest due to me giving up information on the Hand and Mr. Fisk's activities. I should actually be under witness protection, but I decided to forgo that: no amount of hidden identities and hiding under rocks will keep the Hand from coming after me, so I figured I'd take the fight to them."

"That was what that was?"

"Yes. I've been dodging their assassins for the better part of the year." He swung his cane idly, "If it's not them then I have to contend with Mr. Fisk's attempts at retribution for my betrayal and even the occasional contractor. My head's at a premium, you see. I'm surprised Mr. Fisk's enforcers and the Hand aren't fighting each other for the pleasure of gutting me."

"Huh..." Peter looked down at the soda. His first instinct was to offer help but he squashed it down. Sounded like he was a bad guy who dug his own hole, "So...is it a good idea to be sitting here?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course. I doubt I'll be accosted till at least the next hour, give or take." He shrugged lightly, "That and your presence here is a bit of a deterrent. While I doubt you'll help me, they don't know that and it'll make them wary, so thank you."

"You're...welcome?" Never heard  _that_  before.

"Oh, but of course I must thank you," he continued cheerily, "You did save my life, after all, so if you need anything from me then please don't hesitate to ask."

He shouldn't have said anything, but for some reason he opened his mouth, "You heard about the Green Goblin attack?"

"Yes, you'd have to be living under a rock to not be. Spider-Man and Spider-Woman's first official team-up...well, the first fighting a villain that wasn't a complete joke." He finished off his soda and threw it down into the alley, "Why do you ask?"

"Well...Spider-Woman's been really worried. We took down the guy supplying him with stuff and took him to S.H.I.E.L.D. They were supposed to tell us what they knew so we could help, but they haven't said anything," This was wrong. He wasn't someone Peter should've been confessing to, but... "Gwen thinks they're sneaking behind our back because they think her old friend did it and they're cutting us out. I don't know what to do and-"

"And you believe a no good criminal like me would?" He chuckled softly, "Well, you wouldn't be wrong, and I'm well aware of Harold Osborn's little temper tantrum." He grinned, looking more and more like a shark who smelled blood, "The Osborn prince turned Goblin. Or was it Lizard? Hard to keep up. Did you know he attempted to murder Ms. Stacy purely to feed off his own insecurities?"

"Yeah, Gwen mentioned something like that..." Not in those words, but close enough.

"Probably in kinder terms. She always was biased towards those she loved." He hummed, "Well, admittedly my knowledge on this new Goblin is rather limited due to my own problems, but is it safe to assume that Ms. Stacy does not, in fact, believe that the man who aided a terrorist organization of his own free will could do any wrong?" His tone was dripping with mocking condescension by the end and Peter frowned.

"I don't think you have any room to talk."

"Who better to call out a criminal than another one?" he replied lightly, "Well, I suppose Ms. Stacy's well within her rights to be doubtful. Naive of her, but what can you do?" He shrugged, "Still, I do think I know what this favor of yours will be. You want my help to find out who's the man behind the Goblin, correct?"

Peter didn't reply. A part of him did think that it would work - after all, he couldn't have found Mr. Toomes' operation without that Aaron Davis guy giving him the info (though his badass interrogation skills probably helped). Still, that guy was just someone who held people up in alleys. This guy was the freaking Kingpin, the guy who made Gwen's life hell for almost a year.

"I'll take your silence as an affirmative," Murderdock said, "And I know this is impolite given that this is already me repaying a favor, but I need something in return from you."

"O-Oh, what? More ninjas?"

"No, those I could handle on my own. This is more a personal preference: don't tell Ms. Stacy about our meeting tonight." Peter blinked once, twice and opened his mouth. He didn't know how to respond to that, "I will do my best to help you, but if Ms. Stacy were to be made aware of my assistance then I doubt I'll get anywhere. If you wish to actually receive any help then let's keep this between us."

"You're asking me to lie to her." His grip on the can tightened.

"There's a difference between a lie and omission." Wow, he really was a lawyer, "Well, just think about it. I'll contact you when I can." He suddenly tossed something in the air and Peter automatically caught it. It was only a few seconds later that he realized it was his phone.

"When did you-"

"I'll see you soon, Spider-Man." With a cheeky grin, the blind(?) redhead flipped down into the alley below out of sight. Peter looked down at his phone and furrowed his brows at the new (unnamed) contact on his list. A part of him was tempted to delete it right then and there, but in the end he just stuck it into the pocket of his suit and sighed. This did not go how he thought it would.

"Peter, your heart rate is spiking," Karen 'helpfully' intoned.

"I'm fine." He stood up and took a deep breath, "I'm just...it's hard to say." It reminded him of his talk with Mr. Toomes. Back when he'd first put on the mask he thought the bad guys were just bad guys. He'd watched the Godfather films, but he always reminded himself that if you did bad then you were bad; it didn't matter if you were charming about it.

Now he just saved Gwen's arch-enemy and let him walk.  _Then again_ , the logical part of him reminded,  _what else were you gonna do?_ He said he didn't have any warrants out, and that was at least the truth. Gwen had once complained about it (after another botched job putting her in a bad mood) and how annoyed it made her that he just walked after everything he did.

Peter really didn't want to kill him either - that alien guy torturing Dr. Strange and Thanos were extreme circumstances. Still, letting him just walk off felt wrong, even if he was 'harmless' now.

Sighing, Peter stood up, pulled down his mask and swung back into the direction of Queens. Gwen was visiting her dad, but he really didn't want to to talk to her - at least not yet. He needed advice, and he did't want to go back to Loomworld for it.

Ten minutes later and he was in front of the Parker's house, full costume and all. Thankfully the street was deserted, so he didn't have to worry about anyone peeking. Peter gulped somewhat nervously and knocked on the door. He'd visited Ben and May - no aunt and uncle - occasionally throughout the weeks. It was kinda awkward, as expected, but it was getting better. He wasn't their nephew, but that didn't mean he couldn't be friends with them.

Ben was the one who answered the door. He blinked in surprise at the sight of the fully costumed Spider-Man in his doorstep before he smiled warmly, "A hero at our doorstep. What's the occasion?"

"Don't need one to visit friends." Ben let him in and Peter took off his mask, his hair immediately coming up in messy tufts. Sometimes he was really jealous that Gwen's symbiote just let her change her clothes to whatever she wanted. No need to lug around a backpack or anything, "Where's May?" he asked lightly. He'd need them both for this.

"Oh, she's in the kitchen with one of your Spider friends."

"Uh...what?"

Peter peeked his head into the kitchen where, sure enough, May was cooking dinner with another figure beside her. At first glance he thought it was Noir - wearing black and all - but eventually his mind caught up to the fact that he was way too short and the jacket wasn't nearly as long for it. That and he was smiling. Awkwardly, yeah, but still smiling. Noir didn't smile; he grimaced.

May turned to look at him and her expression brightened, "Oh, Peter! What a nice surprise!" She wiped her hands and gave him a quick hug. May Parker was a huggy person, that was apparently constant throughout the multiverse, "I met your friend here earlier when I went shopping and he offered to help me carry my bags."

"Then I called her May by accident and she kinda figured it out." The other Spider laughed softly. Looking closer, Peter definitely recognized him: the Spider-Man with the guns talking with another Spider-Gwen (she still hated the name) back then, "You can call me Ben. It's...convenient." Also the name of his dead uncle, but he didn't say anything about that.

"Right..." Peter shook his hand, "So...you stuck here too?"

"Thankfully not. No offense to this place, but I've had my share of being stuck in Madhouses." He waved a hand through the air, "Got into a bit of trouble back in my place and ended up here. I should be able to get back in a few when Gwen or Cin realize what's happened and track me. Till then I'm just waiting around and May invited me over for a bit."

"Cool."

Peter helped set the dishes (he couldn't cook to save his life) and soon enough all four of them were sat at the dinner table with a generous helping of roasted chicken. His Aunt May couldn't cook much. That was something Ben always did, which he used to tease her about. After the meatloaf incident and setting off the fire alarm they kinda figured takeout would be dinner from then on.

"So how's that website treating you?" May smiled.

"Website?" Younger Ben asked.

"Oh, it was Betty's idea. It was pretty hard to get bills for a bit because of, well, a lot of stuff, so she thought that maybe Gwen and me could be Heroes for Hire. You know, do stuff like taking selfies or bodyguard work. The non-critical stuff. Gwen did it just to shut Betty up and but then we got so many requests that Gwen had to take a break from college to even keep up."

And things were getting more and more complicated. Now Betty actually hired someone (as in, someone other than her Law college buddies) to draft up actual contracts so there wouldn't be any backlash or someone couldn't rip them off. Oh, and taxes, cause not even Spider-Woman could swing away from the IRS. They were as scary as Baskin Robbins about always finding out.

"Huh, that's pretty smart." Younger Ben nodded, "She ever think about merchandising? That's how Gwen - uh, my Gwen - gets a lot of her stuff."

"Oh, Betty actually checked in on that, but apparently Tony Stark got her licensing since Spider-Woman was public domain for a while." The year in prison probably didn't help, "It's cool. We're making enough to pay the rent and buy corndogs."

"You know, I should really teach either of you to start cooking one of these days. Even if you have superpowers eating all that junk food can't be healthy." May huffed lightly.

"So, you're Spider-Man where you're from?" Peter asked to the Spider sitting across from him.

"More or less, though Brant doesn't think I'm very 'spider-y'." He shrugged, "You said you were trapped here?"

"Yeah, that's...kind of a long story." And one he didn't wanna repeat. He just hoped it ended with Thanos being on the other end of that glove, "I kinda can't go back because if I do I end up turning into dust. That's not a hyperbole or anything; literal dust."

"Ain't the weirdest thing I've heard." He shrugged again, "So you're staying with Gwen?"

"Yeah. It was...a bit of a surprise when we ran into them at the hospital," Older Ben said somewhat awkwardly, "It was the first time we found out there were other universes. Sometimes I still can't believe it."

"Yeah, you and me both." Peter's smile was equally awkward. Still, he definitely didn't regret coming here, even if the start of it wasn't the best, "So...I actually came here because I wanted some advice and I didn't know who else I could ask."

"Knew you were being fidgety," Younger Ben said, "Should I go?"

"N-No, it's cool! Maybe you could help too."

"What's on your mind, Peter?" May asked in that reassuring way of hers.

"Alright, it's just..." Peter took a slow, deep breath, "Imagine your friend is worried about something really bad, so bad that sometimes they can't even sleep at night, and then you find a way that maybe you can help them...but the way you can do it isn't the best."

"How do you mean 'not the best'?" Older Ben asked.

"I mean, maybe Gw- they get freaked out and might not trust you again?" Okay, maybe that was exaggerating it a  _bit_ , but something told him that Gwen would  _not_ be happy if she found out he was talking to Matt Murderdock behind her back. Probably not enough to not trust him ever again, but still.

"And...what exactly is Gwen worried about?" Younger Ben raised a brow.

Peter didn't bother to deflect the question. He didn't exactly do the best job lying, "It's...It's about her friend. Harry." He told them everything. The Goblin, finding that Tinkerer guy with Shadowcat and then the days - weeks - of absolute silence. The website kept them all busy, but during their occasional lulls Gwen's mind always came back to what might've happened to her friend.

And then he told them about Murderdock.

"Osborn got himself in trouble again. Why am I not surprised?" Younger Ben rolled his eyes, "So, Gwen here thinks that her best friend did no wrong?"

"I...guess?" Yeesh, what was with this Harry guy? First Murderdock and now weird Dark Spidey, "Well, like I said Gwen's getting kinda worried that S.H.I.E.L.D's going behind her back and, you know, I wanna help fix that."

"But to do that you need to work together with this Matt Murdock person?" May asked. Peter nodded, "Well, I can't say I disagree with why you want to do it. Still, this Murdock person...I wasn't there to see the full brunt of it, but she told us enough. Even if you could solve her problem this way I don't think Gwen would be happy; especially if you had to go behind her back to do it."

"Yeah. Trust me, kid, Matt isn't the kind of devil you wanna make a deal with. Always ends badly," Younger Ben added.

"So...you guys think I shouldn't take it?" It wasn't exactly a hard sell. He'd already considered just deleting the number the entire swing over- or at the very least telling Gwen about what happened. Sure, the idea of finding something to help her was tempting, but so was keeping what happened back home for Gwen and she didn't take it...for too long. She was honest with him, why couldn't he be honest with her?

"I think that this choice is something you both have to make," Older Ben said, "Neither of you have to carry anything on your shoulders. You're partners, right?"

"Right..." Partners, friends, more than that...it just came to him that they hadn't told anyone else about their little moment back at their apartment. He was pretty sure Betty would start teasing him the second she woke up, but for everyone else...well, the fact that Gwen was already bracing herself for MJ's reaction didn't spell good things. Apparently the redhead knew just what buttons to push from her.

"...Hey, your Gwen's got one of those portal watches, doesn't she?" Younger Ben suddenly asked.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Well, if it's working then I could get back home quicker. I'm late enough as it is and I promised Cin I'd help her babysit that little hellion of hers." He stood up and looked at Ben and May in turn, "Thanks for the hospitality, both of you."

"No problem." May waved him off and smiled.

"Good luck." Ben clapped his shoulder.

Peter said his goodbyes to them too (though not before they gave him some of Ben's spare clothes) and the pair of Spiders took the slow walk to the house next door. They were barely past the curb onto the street when Younger Ben suddenly spoke out, "So, you and Gwen are together."

"H-Huh?" Peter almost jumped at the sudden query, "How...How did you know?"

"I didn't, but that reaction makes it obvious." Peter almost wanted to scream at the cliche movie line, "Can't say I'm surprised, and I can't exactly throw stones. You ain't the first trapped Spider who got caught up in that web."

"Wait, so you're dating Gwen too? In your world, I mean?"

"Yeah, but it...wasn't an easy road. Like I said, I got experience being stuck in Madhouses." He waved a hand through the air and sighed, "I didn't say much back in the house, but...whatever thoughts you have about doing something 'for her own good', leave it. That kind of thing never ends well."

"I know." Peter breathed out softly rolled up the sleeves of Ben's flannel shirt. He felt small in it, like he was a kid again who snuck into his Uncle's closet because he wanted to be an adult. Seeing the Ben Parker here still hurt sometimes. It was like he was staring at a constant reminder of his mistake. He quickly reminded himself that it was a two way street for them too and they and Gwen didn't judge him for it, so why should he?

"You're smarter than me then." He let out a wry laugh and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. Peter gave him a wary, sideways look as he lit it, "...What?"

"Nothing, just...don't like smoking." Uncle Ben did it a few times and Aunt May  _never_ let him hear the end of it, saying that she wanted to grow old with him and didn't want to hear any news of lung cancer. If he were more depressed he would've made a crack about not having to worry about it now.

"Says the guy who runs around beating on criminals." He grunted, "Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon anyway." He took a puff of the cancer stick (as Aunt May always called them) and blew it up in the air, "...Hey, if you decide to get Matt's help, make sure to keep him at arm's reach. The blind bastard can be helpful, but only if you don't let him in. Cause that's when he starts tugging on your strings."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"More or less. Hopefully the one over here ain't got a demon inside him."

Peter didn't respond to that and just knocked on Gwen's door. It took a few seconds before Gwen opened the door with a wide smile, which quickly turned to confusion when she caught sight of the third Spider, "Hey, Pete. Uh...friend of yours?" She puckered her lips slightly at the sight of the burning cigarette. The loose shirt, shorts and flip flops made it clear she planned to sleep over instead of going back to the apartment.

"Just someone passing through," Ben said, "You're the Spider-Woman from this world, right? I got detoured here and I'd appreciate it if I could use your portal gizmo to go back to my place. "

"So you're another 'visitor'. Huh, we've been getting a lot of those lately." She side-stepped to let them pass, "Well, come in. Let's open the portal in the backyard so we can have some room. You can stay in the couch, Pete, just don't make too much noise. Dad's sleeping."

He said his goodbyes to Ben and sat awkwardly at the forest green loveseat, just thinking on what he could do. Should he just tell Gwen straight out and say sorry? Or should he ease her in, maybe make a few jokes and then, surprise, he accidentally saved her arch-enemy!

"Ugh..." He put on his mask and activated Karen, "What do I do, Karen?"

"I believe the advice of those three were are the most appropriate. Gwen was honest with you despite her initial hesitation and I believe it's only fair that you reciprocate that trust. Whatever you decide, however, I will support you."

"Thanks, Karen." A pause, "...If I did lie to her, would you be disappointed?"

"Yes, very much so," she said without any hesitation. Peter was torn between flinching and laughing, "I would stay up all night wondering where I went wrong and debating whether it was too late for you to turn around."

"Uh..."

"I would then reminisce about how much you changed from the innocent little boy who still struggled to ask out his crush and just wanted to impress Mr. Stark into someone who'd lie to someone who he'd spent an inordinate amount of time debating on whether he should kiss her; even though she so obviously liked him back. They grow up so fast, don't they? Innocence so quickly lost and discarded like-"

"Alright, alright!" He took off the mask right as she was saying something about 'Vivian'. Did Mr. Stark program her to be more sarcastic or did she pick that up from somewhere else? She  _was_  hanging around Betty a bit too much these past few weeks to Peter's liking.

Eventually after a couple of minutes Gwen walked in, "Sent him back." Before Peter could say anything she suddenly sat right next to him and put her head on his shoulder. It was somewhat awkward since they were practically the same height, though it didn't take them long to adjust. Spider-powers and all, "I swear, my life's gotten way crazier ever since you showed up, Pete."

"S-Sorry." He looked down at his lap.

"...Hey, you know I'm just kidding, right?" Her breath tickled his neck as she leaned in closer, "Is this...alright? Sorry, I've never actually dated anyone before so I'm pretty rusty on the whole touchy feely thing."

"R-Really?" He would've thought she'd been on at least a few dates considering she was... _her_.

"Yep. Didn't really care about it back in high school and after that... I was busy." Trying to make up for something that wasn't even her fault. Peter kept quiet and waited for her to continue, "I mean, I could've dated after the whole year in prison thing, but...well,  _year in prison_. Pretty sure that wouldn't look very good on a dating profile."

"You could also put Superhero. That'd get you a lot of admirers..." he mumbled.

"Pretty sure I'd just get weirdos who wanted to date someone with superpowers and never want me to take the suit off." She snorted and adjusted her position to something more comfortable, "Did I tell you about that high school kid who wanted me to be his date for Spring Formal? And I mean he wanted me to go as Spider-Woman cause 'the site says we do anything'. Seriously."

"You didn't accept, right?" The thought of someone asking Gwen out almost made him frown. Almost. He managed to rein it in.

"Nope." She snorted, "I'm pretty sure there's an 'I refuse to be armcandy' clause in the contracts Betty printed up. We can still do it, but it's not part of our contract. You should know considering you were making kissy faces at Ms. Patsy Walker."

"That was-"

"I'm just joshin' ya, Pete." She rolled her eyes and picked up one of the unopened cans of soda on the table. He just looked at her and tried to ignore the dryness in his tongue.  _Just tell her now_ , he screamed internally,  _tell her now before it gets worse_. He balled his hands into tight fists, took a deep breath and asked.

"You heard anything from Shadowcat?"

Her lax smile faded and she looked down at the can of soda, "Nope, still nothing." She sighed, "Been trying to call Mr. Osborn too, but no dice. It's...It's bugging the hell out of me, Pete. I mean I get why Shadowcat wants to cut me out, but why Mr. Osborn? I saved Harry's life! Twice! You'd think a guy would get that I didn't want to just put him in a jail cell or something..."

"Yeah..." Peter took a deep breath. Now or never, "So, um...what would you say if, hypothetically, I could just  _maybe_  get some information on the impostor?"

"I'd say you're being too nervous for hypotheticals and tell you to spit it out." Peter winced. Why did everyone always read him like an open book? "...What's wrong?"

"I...may or may not have saved your arch-enemy's life?" She blinked and said nothing, "Matt Murderdock, I mean. I...saved his life."

He told her everything. Going on patrol after waking up, saving Murderdock's life from those ninjas, the talk they had at that billboard, and the deal. Gwen didn't say anything and just let him ramble. Peter just looked down at his wrung hands and refused to look up. He didn't look up - he felt too guilty.

To her credit, Gwen didn't absolutely freak out at that. The blonde separated from him (he didn't say anything about how cold it suddenly was without her next to him) and when he finally face her she gave him a flat look, lips pursed and a single brow raised. They stayed in the absolute quiet for at least a minute before she stood and went for the kitchen without a single word uttered between them.

Peter didn't chase after her. He just looked down at the ground again guiltily and refused to move for several minutes.  _Of course_  she'd be angry. Why wouldn't she? That guy made her life absolute hell and he was the reason her dad was in the hospital for so long. Of course she'd hate him for saving him, of course she'd-

"Hey, sorry about that." Gwen suddenly re-entered the room and plopped down next to him. There was a packet of corndogs in her hands, "Just wanted to get some corndogs. I was hungry."

"W-Wait, you're not angry?"

"Uh...why would I be? It's not like you did anything wrong." She offered him a corndog, which he took after a moment of reluctance. She took a generous bite of one and scooted till their shoulders were touching again, "I mean I  _am_  kinda cheesed he's still running around, but all you did was save a guy you saw being assaulted by ninjas. Not like you offered to be to be his peter Superhero or something."

"I...guess so?" He spun the stick between his fingers awkwardly. This was not how he expected it to go, "I thought you'd be mad considering the deal-"

"Which you didn't take," she interrupted forcefully. Peter looked at her again and she smiled warmly at him, "Seriously, Pete, you need to lighten up. Murderdock made you a deal and you didn't take it. Simple as that."

"But...if I did take the deal, would you have been angry?"

"You mean if you did sneak with that asshole behind my back 'for my own good'? Absolutely. I would've gone apeshit." The cheery way she said that creeped him out just a bit, "But you  _didn't_ , that's the point. You could have acted like an idiot and you didn't, so why would I be angry? Besides-" she sagged slightly on the cushions, "I don't exactly have any room to talk considering I almost lied to you about your world. Hell, I should be apologizing to you for waiting so long when you told me immediately!"

"It's alright! I mean, you just wanted to-"

"It doesn't matter what I wanted. Point is I lied to you and I waited a week before telling you anything. You waited, what, 30 minutes? It's not exactly comparable." She laughed softly. There was a hint of bitterness in the gesture, "But seriously, stop worrying. Murderdock made you a deal and you didn't take it. You did better than I did." Her lips curled in a frown. He hated seeing her like that, "At least you didn't-"

He kissed her again. He didn't know what made him suddenly so brave, but in the end they were making out - yes, you read that right,  _making out_  - on the couch. Gwen closed her eyes and let him push her down onto her back. She was warm. That was the only thing he could focus on as his hands trailed under the hem or her shirt to rub her warm, warm,  _warm_  skin.

Their lips separated with a soft pop and Gwen gasped, "Peter..." Her hands settled on her sides. Peter's cheeks burned and he swallowed nervously at the sight of her red face and strangled breaths. She was always so cool and confident, seeing her like this was-

"Gwen..." He leaned down to kiss her again before she grabbed his shoulder and shook her head. He was almost hurt before she said her next words.

"Pete...my dad's upstairs."

He suddenly felt like he'd been doused in ice cold water. Her dad, the police chief who probably woke up from every little noise, was  _right upstairs_. Peter practically  _jumped_  back away from Gwen and almost fell off the couch entirely when his back bumped against the armrest.

The blonde raised a brow as she sat up, "Alright, I didn't think that'd suddenly make you think I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but whatever." She actually sounded kinda miffed. Peter opened his mouth to defend himself before she suddenly laughed, "I'm kidding! Geez, you really need to learn to take a joke."

"So...you're not mad?"

"Considering we were making out on the couch five seconds ago? You tell me." She stood up and stretched her arms above her head with a short groan, "Ugh, we wasted the corndogs." She looked down at the spilled corndogs and (very regretfully) put them in a plastic bag for disposal, "You wanna go get something to eat? My treat. I did a job a couple of days ago and there's this new burger place that opened up."

"W-Wait." He grabbed her hand and she looked down at him curiously, "Wh-What do we do about Murderdock? He still has my number, and he probably knows how to contact me somehow." He doubted that guy would just wait for Peter to make the first move and call him first.

"Then we'll meet him together." She pulled him up, "Easy as that. Trust me, without his goons or the Hand backing him he's not exactly a threat now. If he tries anything I'll kick his ass and feed him those shades of his. And about Harry...I'll call Cap. I didn't want to cause she might hold it over me, but if I don't get any updates at the end of the week I'll ask for a favor. Better than nothing."

"Okay..." He paused before asking his next question, "Hey, if you found Murderdock when he needed help...what would you have done?"

"I'd...probably have let the ninjas have at him." She licked her lips, "That doesn't sound very heroic of me, does it?"

"It's pretty fair considering what he did to you. I'd probably have done the same thing." He didn't  _like_  killing people, but there was a reason Mr. Stark put the instant kill mode there. Sometimes it did just come down to your or them.

He liked to think the best of people, but even people he saved like Mr. Toomes tried to bury him alive in that warehouse; Mr. Toomes couldn't have known he'd pull through. And for what? To take of his family. They didn't look like they were struggling in that fancy house and car of theirs. Mr. Toomes made more than enough to take care of his family and he just got greedy and couldn't stop. For all his justifications about just wanting to care for his family, he was just a criminal in the end.

Murderdock was probably the same if what Gwen said was right. Just a petty person who refused to admit he was anything more than that.

They ended up at the burger place in no time flat. The two of them took a corner table and Gwen dug into her triple burger happily, "Oh my God, this is the best feeling in the world." Gwen moaned, "We gotta come back here next payday with the others."

"Yeah." He took a bit of his comparatively smaller burger and hummed, "So...are we going to tell them? You know, about us?"

She set her burger down and downed half the soda in one go, "I...guess so. I mean I don't see any point in hiding it or anything. It's just...man, MJ's gonna absolutely hold it over my head. Did you know she's been teasing me that we 'so obviously had it bad for each other'?"

"Actually, no." That might've explained the occasional smirks she gave when he and Gwen were talking, though.

"Oh, and of course Glory's gonna go all band mom and start grilling us about if we're sure this is what we want or if we even thought about the whole alternate dimension thing and bla bla bla."

"Yeah..." Sometimes, for just a bit, he forgot about Thanos and his world. And then it all came crashing crashing back down, "Fighting Thanos is gonna be hard."

"I'll be there with you, so no worries there." He looked at her in surprise and she raised a brow, "What, did you think I'd let you fight that big purple bastard on your own? Not a chance. Me and the rest of the Web Warriors have your back. No Spider left behind."

"I...thanks." He didn't cry, he just...maybe sniffled a bit. Gwen and the others had done so much for him: giving him a place to stay, trying to help him find his way back home, and now they were willing to fight a guy who killed off half the universe, "I'm...I'm really happy I ended up here. I promise I'll pay you and the others back for all the help you gave me."

"You don't have to." Gwen leaned forward and took his left hand in her right. She smiled, "You helped me out too, you know. I was...in a really bad place for a while there. If you weren't here I might've started shutting out Betty and the others, so I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything, alright? We're partners, we've got each other's backs..."

They didn't kiss again, but the warmth from her hand was enough for him. Peter smiled back just as bright and didn't notice the clicks of the camera across the street and the paparazzi speeding away on a bike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned above, this took some major re-writing in dealing with Matt. In the original chapter Peter did accept the deal on the basis that it would be fine so long as Gwen didn't find out and it was for her sake. This would've led to Gwen inevitably finding out in the next chapters and their relationship stalling cause Peter went behind her back in a major way.
> 
> And then I realized , no, MCU absolutely would not do this and compromise Gwen's trust since he's not like Noir. So I had to delete all of that and start over from scratch where Peter is much more torn and ultimately decides he likes (loves?) Gwen and he's not gonna play grabass with her arch-enemy behind her back. It lacks the dramatic 'how could you?!' kick, but it does feel far more sensible and in-character. Apologies for people wanting more drama.
> 
> As mentioned above, the next chapter will hopefully be much lighter and deal with the fallout of Peter and Gwen getting caught making kissy faces by the paparrazi. Granted MCU's secret identity is already paper thin as it is, but now they have confirmation. Oh, and of course MCU getting a lot of hate from Gwen's not-so-secret admirers given how popular she is with certain parts of the NYC population.
> 
> ...Oh, and random Looking Glass Noir cameo cause I'm feeling vain. It'll be the last one, I promise. I just added him in cause I thought it was unfair that Two Spiders Gwen got to talk with Looking Glass Gwen while MCU had to deal with grouchy canon Noir.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. For a date chapter between Gwen and MCU, what would you guys want? I'm torn between them doing something normal couples would do like a walk in the park, movies or going to the beach vs them doing something in-costume as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. What do you guys think, normal or superhero?


	15. Two Spiders on a Web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endgame is literally two days away from where I'm at, so I decided updating and adding a bit of a plot at the end would be nice. This story's gotten far large than I intended and even then I still somehow feel like I'm rushing it :/
> 
> Speaking of the MCU, I'm definitely considering a 'Spider-Gwen trapped there' version. Just trying to decide if it would be a new fic (reversal where Gwen is the visitor and Peter's the guide) or a sequel fic to this. The former means that Peter/Gwen isn't set and in that case I'd actually lean towards Gwen/MCU Matt Murdock for irony points and because I think the plot could work really well given their personalities and backstories. We'll see.
> 
> Also, I'll say this again: Please stop making 'Can *insert alternate Spidey here* show up please?' requests. This is not a massive crossover and the appearances of certain Spideys - particularly Mayday and Noir and the Looking Glass versions - are meant to tie into the plot. If you want something like that look over to Spider-Friends on spacebattles.

"What the fuck?!"

Peter shot up and fell off the bed at the sudden scream, "Whu?" He looked around in a panic and ran out of Gwen's room, not even bothering to put his mask on. If Gwen was screaming like that it meant something terrible was opening.

"Fucking Bugle!"

Or...not.

Peter stopped, still dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and shorts with both fists raised, as Gwen slammed the newspaper down on the kitchen table and let loose another tirade of expletives that he almost felt guilty just just hearing. Sitting across from her, Betty just smiled in that normal Betty way and continued to eat her cereal, occasionally tossing some pieces of leftover meat to the cat perched atop her head.

Gwen eventually stopped her tirade. The blonde took a deep breath and pinched her nose while Peter continued to stand there awkwardly. It was quite clear now that there was not, in fact, a supervillain busting down their door to reap bloody vengeance and curse their descendants.

"Uh..."

Gwen froze briefly at the sound of his voice before she turned with the fakest smile he'd ever seen; and he'd seen the Captain America fitness videos, "Oh, hey! Sleep well?" she asked, voice sickly sweet. It creeped him out. Gwen was nice and fun and wore her heart on her sleeve, but she never tried to talk to him like she was a mom explaining to her kid that cursing was wrong.

"P-Pretty good, yeah..." Gwen invited him to share the bed cause 'he must've been getting sick of the couch'. He didn't really mind, but he also wasn't going to say no to Gwen Stacy inviting him to share a close space, "Um...what was that about?"

"Oh, that? Nothing. Just stubbed my toe." Betty snorted into her spoon and Gwen threw her a murderous look, "Let's get eating. We've got a long day ahead." She not so subtly crumpled the paper and threw it into the empty trashcan before making her way to the fridge. Peter and Betty shared a look and the glasses wearing brunette smirked and pointed at the trashcan as she stood.

Betty started chatting up Gwen about today's workload while Peter grabbed the paper from the trashcan as quietly as he could. He set it on the table and looked down at the contents. Jameson's re-election pitch (not interested), some news about a caught serial killer (last victim was a teenager named Lana Baumgartner, poor girl) and then...

"Oh."

On the front page, written in big bold lettering:  **Spider-Woman's Lover. Spider-Man's Secret Identity Revealed?** Right below that was a picture of the two of them holding hands at the diner and below that was a smattering of other pictures. Him backstage with Gwen and the others, the two of them with goofy faces at the dollar dog a few nights ago. Days and days of just pictures between the two of them.

_'Gwen Stacy, known also as Spider-Woman, was seen with this young man at a diner and various other venues and...'_  He read through it quickly. A brief recap on Gwen's recent activities, his own 'sudden appearance' and then the mountains of proof pushing towards the idea that he was Spider-Man.

Oh, and a paragraph about how Gwen's character was suspect due to her 'preference for those of the younger age'.

He was just about to read that when Gwen turned, saw what he was doing and screamed, "Don't read that!" Betty hugged her mid-section and tried to valiantly hold her in place, but the other Spider person didn't even notice and just dragged her along as she rushed towards Peter. Moving on instinct, Peter grabbed the newspaper and jumped up at the ceiling so he could continue reading.

"Hey!" She tried to jump but Betty kept a vice grip on her, "Hey! Leggo, Betts!"

"Never!" She pressed her face to Gwen's stomach and made nomming noises.

_'In addition to her previous criminal acts, we now find that Spider-Woman has a deviant personality as well. The boy in the picture - whose identity is still under investigation - appears to be no older than 15 years old and clearly shows signs of being in a relationship with the vigilante. While not against New York's statutory laws, it does put into further question the character of Gweyndolyne Maxine Stacy and how safe our children are-'_

The paper was suddenly yanked out of his hands. Peter looked down and found Gwen webbing the crumpled paper to her before, without any sort of warning, she suddenly tore it into multiple pieces and chucked them out the window. A long, awkward silence settled over the room. Peter stayed attached to the ceiling, looked down at the two and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Your middle name's Maxine?"

Gwen blinked up at him and answered slowly, "Yeah...?"

"Oh...cool." He jumped off the ceiling and Betty finally let go of Gwen's waist. She continued to stare at him as he got some eggs from the fridge along with a packet of bacon, "This good enough? We need to go shopping after work today."

"Um...yeah, yeah."

They didn't talk about the article the rest of the way through breakfast. It wasn't like he didn't want to talk about it, but he didn't know how to broach the subject. Gwen was probably mad about the accusations against her and really he couldn't blame her. He remembered a blog someone made before accusing him of being an exhibitionist cause of his costume. He was just happy no one else he knew saw it.

It was at the end of the meal when Betty suddenly broke the silence, "I think I should move out."

Gwen's head snapped up and she stared at the brunette with a shocked, wide-eyed look, "Wh-What? Why?"

"Well you and Pete are together now, thought you'd want to get some privacy?" Betty asked back, "That and it seems like everyone's gonna know who Spider-Man is soon...speaking of, I thought you'd be panicking more about that?" Betty looked to him.

"Uh...yeah." Peter swirled the eggs on his plate, "Well, it's just...it's not something I worried about too much. I mean I wanted to be an Avenger at some point and to get in there I'd need to take off the mask. Accountability and all." He still didn't fully agree with the Sokovia accords, but he still believed in the Avengers, "Besides, it's not like I have an identity here. I mean...Peter Parker's...gone," he finished off lamely.

"Yeah..." Gwen looked down at her own plate and bit her lip briefly before looking up at Betty again, "Betts...I don't want you to go. I mean I'd understand if you didn't feel safe here anymore, but-"

"Not safe? Shit, Gwen, me, Glory and MJ are your best friends. Pretty sure it doesn't matter where we are if villains wanted to come after of for 'REVENGE!' or whatever." Gwen flinched like she'd been struck, "Hey, I don't blame ya! It's cool! You lived with the police chief, pretty sure at least a few people thought about hitting him where the sun don't shine. It happens."

"So why are you leaving?"

"Uh...like I said, thought you two wanted your privacy. That and I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a  _lot_  of people coming up here now that they know Spider-Man and Spider-Woman are coupling it up. I'd hate to disappoint any stalker that comes in."

"Ugh, don't remind me!" Gwen covered her face with both hands and groaned, "Can't believe this fucking guy. He's been stalking us for weeks!" Yeah, and his spider-sense didn't warn him at all. Then again, it didn't warn him about Ned and Aunt May and Mr. Toomes at all. Maybe it didn't consider his identity getting found out as dangerous? "I still don't know how my dad's-"

Her phone rang. Gwen looked down at the screen and flinched at the word 'dad' on it, "...Crap. I gotta take this." She sighed and made her way to the other room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Peter swirled his eggs again, "...I don't want you to leave either," he said softly, "It's...It's fun here, the three of us."

"Yeah, I think so too." Betty smiled softly, "...Well, I'll hold off on it for now, but if I catch this douche taking pics planting stuff in our shower I'm gonna lose."

"You and me both, Betts."

"Right, well, enough of that serious stuff. Time to get to work!" They both sat on the couch and she booted up the laptop, "Believe it or not, there's actually some benefit to your newfound fame." She gestured to the list and Peter blinked at the sheer amount of web ride requests. He got a decent number of them before, but now there were entire pages with nothing but.

"Uh...how is this from that front page?"

"Check the people requesting."

Most of them were teenage girls from 15 to 19. Peter blinked again and looked at Betty in confusion, "Uh...what does that mean?"

"It means, Pete, that you are officially a stud muffin." Betty grinned at his look of shock, "Guess some people were on the fence for a while since they didn't know what you looked like. Now that they know that you're adorable - don't blush, you know it's true - suddenly everyone wants in. Can't say I'm against the idea of you getting more work, but I'm not sure Gwen'll like it."

"Won't like what?" Gwen asked as she joined them on the couch.

"Pete being a stud muffin." Betty said shamelessly, completely ignoring Peter's flushed cheeks, "He's basically hormonal teenage girl bait and we're deliberating on whether we should take advantage of this. I mean one web ride is a 100 bucks, minus tax."

"Right..." Gwen's expression was hard to gauge.

"Oh yeah, how'd it go with your dad?"

"He was...confused." Gwen sighed, "I'll explain to him later, but I think it'll be fine. After that BS with Murderdock I'm pretty sure me dating a guy is pretty low on his list of things to get pissed about." Oh, good. Peter didn't exactly like the idea of being grilled by a former police chief, "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Not much change for you." Betty clicked the next tab, "Got some bodyguarding jobs, some offers from Make a Wish for a charity appearance...oh, and someone else asking to borrow your powers. Pretty sure is that's same one before in an alt account, but I thought you should know."

"Block her." Gwen scowled, "I thought we updated the description to say I can't do that and refuse to accept 'requests' like that?"

"We did. She said, and I quote, 'I know she got her powers from somewhere! Stop being selfish and just give it!' along with a bunch of other whiny stuff and saying she'd only pay half price cause of the inconvenience." Betty rolled her eyes and deleted the request along with blocking the account in question, "Sifting through all this crap is kinda like a full time job now. I feel like a secretary."

"You could always take a break from college." Gwen grinned.

"Yeah...no. You get to do the fun super stuff while I shift through the junk mail? No thanks." Betty snorted, "Oh, and I tested the app with Karen last night after you guys came back. She sent it to your phones, so now you can receive faster and real time updates while I sift through it here." She opened his tab again, "So we taking advantage of Pete's no stud muffin status or what?"

"Well...it's not against the rules to do web rides." It was one of his most requested jobs. That and selfies, which they'd lowered to 20-50 dollars depending on distance, number of photos and how many people were present.

"And I'm sure the people requesting it being teenage girls don't hurt." Gwen snorted. Was she...jealous? Or just annoyed about the bugle accusing her of liking younger men? "Well, whatever. I'm gonna take this bodyguarding thing. It's two hours on an armored truck. Gimme an update on any new jobs, alright?"

They said their goodbyes and Peter swung over to his first job. Typical case - someone wanted a lift from home to school. It wasn't too far off - about 30 minutes by bus - and it'd only go faster with webswinging.

Peter landed on the front porch and knocked on the door. There was a rush of footsteps and a blonde girl who looked maybe 15 at the oldest opened the door with a look of disbelief, "I-It's you! It's really you!'" He didn't even get a chance to say a quip before she continued on in a rush, "I-I just gotta prepare for school! Hold on!" And then she slammed the door in his face.

O...kay then.

Peter waited at the bottom of the steps and awkwardly waved at the people who passed by. A lot of them stopped to take pictures or even chat, which was nice. Most of them were happy to see him and again he was reminded of Queens back home. He still remembered the guy who asked him to do a flip and cheered when he did. He couldn't imagine living like Gwen did, saving people and getting nothing but scorn in return.

It was another reason he found her so amazing. Being a hero wasn't easy, but being a hero when the people you saved treated you like garbage? Most people would've given up. She didn't.

"So are you really dating Spider-Gwen?"

Right, he did say  _most_  of them were happy to see him. Peter looked up at the guy who asked him the question. The guy was older than him, maybe a college student, and definitely bigger; looked like he hit the gym a lot judging by the size of his arms and legs.

"Huh?"

"You really dating Spider-Gwen?" He loomed over him. Peter didn't feel intimated; he fought Giant Man before, for spider's sake!

"Yeah...and she prefers to be called Spider-Woman."

"Pfft, yeah,  _sure_."

Peter proceeded to ignore the guy as he went on a rant. About how Peter was too small in all the wrong places, about how there were loads of other people she could've been with and bla bla bla. He kinda knew this was coming. Despite her reputation Gwen had a  _bit_ of a fan following, which Betty never failed to tease her about. Of course she'd have admirers like this. He'd seen first just how rabid some of the Tony Stark fangirls back home were. It was amazing Mrs. Stark - formerly Ms. Potts - never paid them any mind considering how annoying they got.

_'Peter, the man is getting considerably agitated. Would he try a physical confrontation?'_

"Doubt it," he whispered so only Karen could hear. Most of these guys didn't do anything more than throw insults and try to put you down. And if he did try anything...well, Peter  _did_  have superpowers. He wouldn't fight the guy, but jumping on that lamppost would keep anything from happening.

Thankfully his customer finally decided to come out. Peter looked up and smiled stiffly at her. She was dressed up just a bit too much for school: an expensive dress, hair curled and even some pretty good makeup. Maybe it was just him coming from a STEM school, but he'd never seen anyone - except maybe Flash - put on that much stuff just to go hit the textbooks.

"Eagle's Flight Academy, right?" He said in his best Spider-Uber voice. The guy was red in the face at Peter completely ignoring him, "Uh...we should probably take it slow. Don't wanna mess up your outfit."

"You're the boss." She smiled up at him and batted her eyelashes. Normally he would've found it cute, but with the guy glaring daggers at his back and Betty's comments about him being a 'stud muffin' (which he still doubted, by the by) all he felt was a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Peter awkwardly took her with one hand and swung in the direction of the school. She shrieked in excitement and wrapped both her arms around his neck, pressing herself close to him. The teenager Spider gulped nervously and just tried to focus on the road ahead of them. It would've been one thing if she looked out at the view, everyone did, but instead she just looked up at him and with that look in her eyes. The same look he'd seen some of his female classmates had when they talked about Thor and his abs.

He almost stumbled out of the air when she suddenly grabbed a phone from her purse, "H-Hey, careful!" he shouted. She paid him no mind and just activated the camera, "N-Not a good idea! You might drop it!"

Again she just ignored him and raised it up, "Say cheese!" She took a selfie and frowned, "Hey, could you look up? I wanna get your face in the shot."

"Could we do this after we land?" Just a couple more minutes till they reached the school.

"But it won't be as cool!" she whined. The fact that they were high up in the air didn't seem to matter to her at all, "Come on! Please? I paid for your time!"

"You paid me to take you to school," he said as professionally as he could.

She made another whining noise and then, without any sort of warning, kissed him hard at the side of his masked face. Peter did stumble that time and the phone she raised to take the selfie fell into the street below, "My phone!" she cried. Peter flipped, messing up the girl's hair in the process, pulled the phone back with a quick tug of webbing and then righted himself just before they hit the ground.

"Told you!"

Thankfully they arrived at the school before she could say anything. Peter dropped her off at the entrance and handed her the phone back, "Never swing and text," he said. He wouldn't say anything about what she just did; save her the embarrassment. The girl accepted the phone back after some hesitation and frowned, "Well, gotta. People to save and cats to rescue."

"W-Wait!" She ran a hand through her mussed up hair and stepped closer to him. A few of the students were outright gawking at them now, "Could take the picture now that we're on the ground? It's not as cool as in the air, but it's better than nothing."

"Uh...sure, but you can't do what you did up there." He not so subtly wiped off the lipstick still smeared on his mask, "I'm, you know, in a relationship."

"So that was true?  _Ugh_. Can't believe you're actually going out with  _her_." She put the phone in her pocket and stomped up to the school entrance. Peter wanted to say something in Gwen's defense but eventually just sighed and swung away. As much there were people who loved her there were still others who just saw a criminal because of what that jerk Jameson told them.

The rest of the day passed by in equal discomfort. Peter got through four more swing rides before one of them asking if they could date and that 'Spider-Gwen didn't have to know' made him exclude all types of those requests on the app, "I'm proud of you, Peter," Karen chimed in, "Many in your position would take advantage. I believe it's called the rockstar lifestyle when a normally humble and nice person gets seduced by fame, adoration and drugs."

"Of course I wouldn't! ...And there aren't any drugs!"

"It depends on the definition. In many people's point of views, and in certain scientific studies, the pheromones excluded by opposite or even same gender are considered intoxicating. In this context we could argue that you are addicted to Gwendolyne-"

"Lalalala! I can't hear you!" His face was burning and he could've  _sworn_  he heard Karen laugh. Peter attached himself to a flagpole and looked for something else to do. He'd stopped an armored car robbery just a few minutes ago (he didn't take payment) and he was feeling pretty good. So far the jobs were more of the same. A few selfies, a charity appearance the next day...nothing really new now that he was excluding the web rides.

"Peter, have you considered the future of your relationship with Gwen?" Karen suddenly asked again. Peter groaned, "It can't be ignored that you both come from differing dimensions. This would make the long term prospects complicated, yes?"

"N-Not really." He swung to a nearby crane and walked upside down the length of it, "The Web Warriors said they'd give me a portal watch if-  _when_  I made it back, so it'd just be like taking the bus." Faster than that, actually. Just tap a couple of buttons and, poof, instant dimensional gate that broke the laws of time and space. All so he could see his girlfriend. Neat.

"And what about a more permanent basis?" she pressed, "Surely you're thinking about marriage."

"Wh-What?!" Peter nearly forgot to keep sticking to the crane in shock.

"Marriage. The union between man and woman when they become of age," Karen said 'helpfully'.

"I know what marriage is! I  _don't_  know why you're bringing it up!" He jumped and swung around aimlessly, trying to clear his head.

"Your relationship with Gwen's pretty good, even despite its early stage. I know that the topic of marriage doesn't come until a far later time and age, but it never hurts to be prepared. And it is a viable question: surely you'd have to pick which dimension to live in after the vows?"

"Ugh, could we please stop talking about this?"

"As you wish, Peter. Just come back when you're ready to start discussing children names." Peter just sighed and let her get it out of her system, "If you wish, we could discuss my progress with the nanites Mr. Stark gave you."

"Oh! Yeah, that's cool! Anything new?" he asked eagerly. The science buff inside really couldn't stop thinking of the possibilities of it. Nanomachines! Stuff like that was possible only in videogames a decade ago. Then again, powers weren't exactly common either till incidents like Dr. Banner's accident or Thor's arrival. Maybe in the next decade everyone would have them!

"Mr. Stark created the nanomachines very recently and my programming was not built to control them. I've found a way to activate most of the functions and the power supply should last for at least a few months. The main issue is material."

"What do you mean?"

"Think what happens when a cloth tears. To get fix the hole, you need to add more cloth - the cloth in this case being the nanites. We don't have access to any more in this universe, meaning any damage we take will leave us at a permanent loss." Just like Mr. Stark when he fought Thanos on his own. Peter still hated the fact that he didn't help back then. Maybe if he did they would've...

"And I already lost a bunch at the fight on Titan..." He stopped and hang on a flagpole. The suit was probably the only reason his back hadn't snapped in two when Thanos slammed him into the ground. The guy managed to beat up Hulk, according to Mr. Stark.

"Exactly. It should be possible to create more, but that's not currently in my programming and it's doubtful Mr. Stark wouldn't put careful limitations on such an ability after the accidental creation of Ultron." Peter hummed and nodded, "However, there are scientists in this dimension that should be capable of such a feat."

"You mean...the Mr. Stark from this place?"

"It's quite possible. Starktech in this universe is still a leading branch on the advancement of robotics."

"You think he'd help us?"

"I am unsure. Do you wish to try?"

"...Yeah, I do."

30 minutes later and he was waiting in the lobby of Starktech in full costume. He'd walked in, asked if he could have a meeting and the secretary actually called Mr. Stark, who agreed to meet him. Peter slumped in his seat and read the magazine (apparently there was a band based on Thor in this universe) while a few people stared at him. He didn't pay them any mind. He must've looked silly in-between all the people in suits.

Eventually he got a call up. Peter straightened his mask and took a deep breath as the elevator door opened, "Oh, hey. Hold on a second." Mr. Stark's voice came from the other end of the room. Peter stepped outside and looked around the large room in awe. It reminded him of the one back home, all sleek and covered in tech. This world's Mr. Stark was really into designing too, apparently.

He waited by the elevator until eventually the man himself came to greet him, "Hey, nice to see ya. Sorry if I don't shake your hand." He was carrying what looked like parts for a repulsor ray, though a much lower version from what he was used to.

"Oh, I could help carry those."

"Well, I won't say no to a superhero." Peter took the components from his hands and followed Mr. Stark to a table filled to the brim with tech. He almost salivated at the sight of it. No way they could afford that even with the site! "So listen, as much as I appreciate the help I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to be my errand boy. Tell me, what brings the great Spider-Man to my office?"

"Uh...there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about." Peter set the tech down, "Um...I know this is a weird thing to ask out of the blue, but do you have any thoughts on nanomachines?"

"You mean outside of Metal Gear? Of course. Everyone wants to make thing smaller." He waved a hand through the air, "Everyone's been trying to make stuff. Course it's all just theoretical right now. I mean I've developed jetboots, blasters, gliders; you name it, I probably made at least a knockoff of it. Nanites are a whole different ballpark, though. Like a cure for cancer."

"Right...well, what would you say if I said I had some?"

"I'd say you're either trying to sell me something sketchy or you actually believe that and you're crazy. But since you're a superhero, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Convince me."

He did. Peter asked if he could connect to the computer and, after a mandatory check (Karen wasn't found by the software), he uploaded the data Karen compiled, "It'll probably take a while to sift through the data, but...this should be fine, right?" He unplugged his mask and Mr. Stark read through some of the pages quickly, a hand on his chin, "Is it okay?"

"Well...it definitely looks legit." He nodded.

"O-Oh, I also have this." He took out one of the nanites from his backpack (he swung by the apartment to get a sample) and put it on the table, "Maybe you could analyze it?"

"I definitely can, but...why are you doing this? Can't be out of the goodness of your heart. Assuming this is legit I could just buy it from you wholesale or give you a monthly cut. It'll take a while to draft up a contract, but-"

"Th-That isn't why I did this." Peter raised both hands awkwardly, "I just...I was hoping that if you do manage to recreate them then maybe you could help me to do it too? Right now I can't replicate it and I might need it if it ever comes down to it."

"Ah, so this is an exchange. I get the blueprints and you get free refills. Now that I get." He smiled and nodded, "Alright, you gotta deal. Gimme your number and I'll contact you if I come up with anything."

"Cool! Uh, and you can call me if you need anything. I'm kinda handy myself. Made the webshooters and everything." Oh God, he was babbling again. He knew the man in front of him wasn't his Mr. Stark, but the way looked now, elbow deep in tech and poring over files, made it hard to remember the difference.

"Definitely. I'll make sure to use your app; don't want to rip you off."

They talked shop for a few more minutes before he eventually left through the window feeling like he was the king of the world. First he got together with the amazing girls in the world(s) and now he got to talk tech with this world's Mr. Stark. The only way this could be better was if he came back and Thanos was already choking on that big dumb glove of his.

He landed on the roof and called Gwen. She picked up almost immediately, "Hey, Pete. What's up?"

"Nothing much." He grinned and sat on the edge of a roof, "Just wanted to talk. You cool?"

"Yeah, just had some shitty customers." She sighed, "A couple of guys were going and on about how I shouldn't date you and that there were other fish on the sea. Then there were some teenage girls who were crying that I didn't deserve you and bla bla." He practically saw her roll her eyes, "Oh, and there was a grandma who called me a pervert and to stay away from her grandkids. That was fun."

"Heh, same...except for the grandma. Didn't have that."

"Lucky. So, wanna meet up for pizza later?"

"Actually...why don't we go out?" This wasn't something he wanted to do over phone, but he couldn't wait till they got home.

"What, pizza not good enough for you?" She laughed, " There's a good corndog place I know if that's more your thing. Or how about Chinese?"

"N-No, I mean we should go out. On a date." She didn't reply, "We've been making some decent money with the app, so why not treat ourselves? There's probably a pretty good restaurant around here."

"Like...dresses and suits and stuff?" She sounded unsure.

"Yeah, I mean only if you want to! And it doesn't have to be today or anything! If you don't wanna it's totally cool!" he said in a rush.

"No...No, I think we should. It'll be nice. See you later?"

"Sure...cool." The call cut. Peter took a long, deep breath to brace himself before swinging to the direction of Queens. He needed advice.

A few days later and he was standing in front of Ben, May and Mary Jane (she was visiting) in one of Ben's old suits. It wasn't exactly the height of fashion, but it held up pretty well, "Oh, you look so dashing." May smiled as she adjusted his collar. It reminded him of that night at prom. May was so excited and kept fussing over every little thing. She wanted that night to be perfect for him.

"Guess we were the same size back then." Ben said with a grin, "Make sure it comes back in one piece, alright?"

"Definitely."

"Still can't believe you're going out with Gwencent." Mary Jane laughed, "We've been trying to set her up with guys for  _years_  and she never took the bait. Then again maybe I should've seen it coming. You're a pretty great catch, Tiger."

"Th-Thanks..." He looked away and blushed, his grip on the backpack (better safe than sorry) tightening. Having Mary Jane help out when he went out with her just a few ago felt kinda awkward. Still, she was one of the people who knew Gwen the best.

When Ben and May finally stopped fussing over every little detail Mary Jane led him to the door, "Gwen's at her dad's next door. You remembered to call the Uber, right?" Yep, 5 minutes ago, "Well, I guess you guys could just swing over there if you need to." She put a hand on both his shoulders and looked him in the eye, "Remember what I told you: she's just Gwen, you don't have to make this whole thing awkward trying to be the perfect gentleman. Okay?"

"Got it."

"Good. Go get her, Tiger."

He made his way next door and knocked. Gwen opened the door and he gulped nervously, "Hey there, stranger." She grinned and leaned across the doorframe with her arms crossed. Peter couldn't stop himself from staring. She was wearing a purple dress that left her shoulders bare along with a pair of teal flats. He was suddenly reminded of her claiming one night that she'd never wear heels even if her life depended on it.

"Hey yourself." He gestured to the parked uber, "Ride's there."

They got into the car and Gwen immediately grinned, "Beats a limo any day of the week. So, what've you got planned?"

"I made a reservation online at this place. It got good reviews."

They chatted the entire ride over, mostly about work. He told her about meeting with Mr. Stark, which she had some doubts about.  _You know he runs a PMC and sells weapons_ , she said. Peter brushed it off. If he was anything like his Mr. Stark then he had a good heart underneath it all.

They paid the driver and got inside. Immediately Peter felt awkward when he stepped inside. He was the one who suggested this, but he'd never been to some place so fancy. Money was tight back home and he never really thought about doing the Hero for Hire thing. Mr. Stark did offer them some cash - said it was payment for the 'internship' - but he never took it. He already gave him so much with the suit and the chance to prove himself.

The two of them sat across one another on their designated table and Peter immediately felt his hairs on his skin standing on edge. He looked around and found the source - practically everyone was staring at them- no, staring at  _Gwen_. They looked away when he caught them staring, but the uncomfortable atmosphere remained.

Peter tried to ignore it and continued to talk to Gwen at a reasonably soft volume. They grinned and gestured to the menu, made fun of the fact that they probably couldn't even pronounce half of the words in there.

And then the waiter came.

"Mr. Reilly?" the tan man asked.

"Oh, we're still looking over the-"

"That's not it." The waiter gave his best customer service smile. It looked faker than usual, "While we appreciate you choosing our restaurant, we believe you might find another venue. I'm afraid we must ask you to leave."

"What? Why? We can pay-"

"Regrettably, sir, it's not about the money. It's-"

"It's about me," Gwen interrupted softly. She looked down at the table with an unreadable expression, "Is it because I'm a criminal or a Superhero?"

"We would prefer not to use that word in this establishment."

"What? Criminal?" Gwen spat back in a clipped tone, "Cause if that's what you're worried about then I'm right at home. Or do you seriously think no one here hasn't dipped their hands in a little white collar rule breaking?"

"No." He looked at her in distaste, "I mean 'Hero'."

Gwen's eyes widened. She stood up and, without another word, stood up and ran out the door, the chair clattering to the floor in her haste, "Gwen!" He reached a hand out towards her but she was out of the door before he could say anything more. He wanted to chase after her, but the bubbling anger at the pit of his stomach kept him rooted to his spot.

It wasn't fair. Gwen was one of kindest, most selfless people he knew. And what did she get for it? People who looked at her like she was a freak, like she was a criminal to be locked up because they were scared. She'd saved them for years without so much as a single thank you, she went to prison to make up for things that weren't her fault, she accidentally killed her best friend to protect people who called her a murderer afterwards.

"Sir, I must ask you to leave as well-"

"You're all ungrateful bastards." The sudden curse and the sheer venom in his voice surprised even him. The waiter's mouth parted in shock and he heard a few offended gasps from the people around him, "Gwen gave up so much to help this city for nothing in return! She never complained, never stopped trying to help people even when people just spat on her for everything she did! She's a hero!"

"Sir-"

"Next time and of you need help, don't look at either of us." That was a lie. He knew that if push came to shove they'd save them, but the promise of it still felt good to say. Peter stormed out of the place and stomped to the opposite side of the street. It was so frustrating. Back home not everyone was a fan of Spider-Man, but the intensity and entitlement Gwen dealt with for years was...

He suddenly felt a skittering on his right shoulder. Peter looked and found a spider - one of Gwen's - jump off the suit and clamber up the wall, "Going to Gwen?" It didn't answer. Peter sighed and put on his mask and gloves (he kept the rest of his costume under the suit), uncaring of the people who saw him. His secret identity was already paper thin at this point anyway. He put the suit into the backpack and grabbed the spider.

It led him to the Washington bridge. Gwen sat at the edge of the tall dividers dressed in her full costume. He didn't get a chance to call out before the spider suddenly jumped and melted into her suit, "Gwen..." He didn't -  _couldn't_  - say anything. He just sat next to her and, without a word exchanged between them, she put her head on his shoulder.

They just stayed there, looking out into the foggy night. Peter took off his mask and breathed in deep. He could see the lights, hear the soft whirring of engines below them. His anger from before was slowly but surely leaving and now all he wanted to do was forget the past few minutes hadn't happened.

"I heard you," she said softly, "When I get too emotional sometimes bits of Venom come out. I heard what you said to them." Peter just nodded, urging her to continue, "I...sometimes I don't know why I keep trying. I save the city from the Kingpin? They hate me. I go to jail to try and make amends? I did that too and they  _still_  hated me. I buried my best friend, almost buried my dad too and...and..."

He hugged her. Gwen didn't cry, but she reciprocated the gesture with a desperation he hadn't seen before and never wanted to see again, "I'm sorry," he said for lack of anything else to say.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. Just..." The mask peeled back and she kissed him. It was desperate at first, clumsy too. She just wanted to forget what happened. Eventually the contact softened and it became far more natural. His hand touched the skin of her stomach and the symbiote peeled back to allow him access. Fingers glided across the skin and Gwen bit her lip to keep from making a sound. He inched higher and higher before she stopped him.

"Not here." She pulled back and looked up at him through her lashes, "Betty's visiting her dad. Let's go back."

Gulping nervously, Peter nodded, put on his mask and swung after Gwen back home.

* * *

"Alright, alright! I'll talk!"

Matt grinned and wiped the blood off his face. It'd been a while since he personally got involved with the field work. By the time he took Mr. Fisk's former role as the Kingpin Otomo and the rest of the Hand refused to let him dirty his hands. Too risky, they said. They needed him to keep the throne warm so they could take advantage of the ripe fruit that was New York.

In a way being deposed by Ms. Stacy was refreshing. Every day was a struggle - would that food be poisoned or would he be stabbed the second he passed through that door? It was a rush he felt only when he was Mr. Fisk's stooge. The last time he'd even come close to getting his hands dirty was when he dealt with Mr. Toomes, and even then his ninjas did most of the work. There was no rush, no thrill in it.

Now his heart was beating and Matt felt more alive than he had in  _years_.

"Oh? Then  _talk_." He pressed the tip of his cane blade against the mercenary's neck. He'd gotten a tip from one of his old underworld contacts that this group had a connection to the recent attack. He found them smuggling weapons and leapt to action the same way Ms. Stacy would have when she saw a perceived injustice. He almost saw the appeal of it. Not in feeling like a hero, he wasn't a child, but in the idea of forcing your view on others and feeling morally superior while doing so. No wonder she was addicted to it.

The man spilled everything. He cried, he begged, told him sob stories about how he had children to support - all the usual justifications. All around them were the prone forms of his comrades. Most of them dead, some of them not. He didn't pay them any mind - mercenaries were disposable regardless of whether you were a 'hero' or a 'villain'. Those who gave up everything for fortune deserved no second glance.

It was only when he finally got everything that Matt slammed his cane against the side of the man's head. He'd get a concussion, and likely brain damage, but he'd live. He didn't want to kill too much; he still owed Spider-Man at least some courtesy.

Still, the information he received was...fascinating. To think that Tony Stark would be responsible for bankrolling a terrorist. He couldn't wait to see Spider-Man's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ww yeah, Peter's gonna get to first base so freaking hard! Maybe second if they're feeling really frisky and Betty doesn't suddenly interrupted them like she always does. Oh, and Earth-65 Tony Stark is evil. Surprise...not really. Peter really needs to be careful about trusting alternate versions of the people you hero worship.
> 
> Also, Gwen's a pervo who goes after younger men. For shame, Gwendolyne, for shame!
> 
> Question:
> 
> 1\. What do you guys think of Gwen as a character? If I ever do make the MCU reversal she'll be the main POV character, after all.
> 
> 2\. More of a crack question, but do people seriously want a Peter/Gwen/Mary Jane threesome pairing? I know MJ is bisexual, but there's no indication she's not a monogamist. That and we have no idea of canon Gwen is bisexual at all and this version is based more on her character in canon.


	16. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a bit. Before anyone asks: Yes I have watched Endgame and yes I have watched the Homecoming 2 trailer. I'm planning two endings: One is the canon Endgame ending with Gwen added and could possibly lead to a sequel fic where Gwen gets stuck in Peter's universe. The second one is an original, more Spider-centric ending.
> 
> So yes, I do have plans, don't worry.
> 
> Oh, and I've had people really against the threesome. Message received, we'll just stick to the cinnamon roll romance.

So...he just had sex.  _Holy shit_.

Peter looked up at the dark ceiling with a look of disbelief. The adrenaline and high had finally worn off and now the entirety of what he - what  _they_  - did finally set in. They had sex. He went right past four bases and did a home run and it was...

...Actually, it was kinda awkward. He'd watched porn (and Game of Thrones, which was close enough) to know the basics of it, but it didn't change the fact that both he and Gwen never did it before. The last person he liked was Liz and after she moved away he was too busy being Spider-Man to really get into the dating scene. And Gwen...after all the crap the city piled on her she didn't even think about dating or...the other thing. The most she'd done was kiss that Miles guy.

Who Peter was very much  _not_  jealous of. No sirree. He just kissed one of the most amazing girls on the multiverse, why would Peter be jealous?

Movement at his side drew his attention. He gave Gwen a sideways glance and saw that she was matching his expression point for point: eyes wide, slight look of disbelief and her lips slightly parted.

God, he wanted to kiss her again.

"So..." Peter started, looking back up at the ceiling again.

"Yeah..." Gwen replied, equally soft. Her hands held onto the edge of the blanket with only her head and shoulders exposed. Both of them were still in their birthday suits, "Was it, uh, was it good for you too?" It was such a cliche line, Classic Gwen, but there was no cocky smile or wink. Instead she looked like she wanted the earth to swallow her whole. He could relate.

"U-Uh, yeah! Totally! It's..." No, he had to be honest! Honest, damn it! "Uh...actually it was kinda awkward. I mean, it makes sense. It was...It was my first time." His cheeks flushed. He was a teenager and there was the typical peer pressure of losing the 'v card' at his age. Flash never stopped bragging once he got lucky after prom. Apparently his date felt bad that 'Spider-Man jacked his car'.

"You too, huh? I guess that explains it." Her eyes suddenly widened, "N-Not that I'm saying you were bad or anything! I mean that-"

Peter laughed and finally turned to face her. Gwen's face was equally flushed and it was odd...and amazing to see. Gwen always looked so confident, so in control. Seeing her like that made him feel less like a dork, as Michelle called him, "It's fine. We were...we're both new at this. Makes sense that it was kinda...off." Again, not  _bad_ , but there was definitely some things they could've done better.

Maybe trying to add webs right from the get go wasn't the best idea...

A sudden gurgling sounded through the dark room. Gwen covered her face with a pillow and groaned while Peter laughed again, "We did get kicked out of that restaurant," he said eventually, "Let's have a re-do. No fancy places, no snobs. Who cares about dressing up anyway?"

"...I know a good burger joint nearby. Owner likes me cause I stopped a robbery."

"Lead the way."

Ten minutes later and they were sitting across one another from the aptly named Burger Shack. Peter bit into the burger with a light hum and relished in the taste of bacon and the secret sauce, "This is the best, right?" Gwen asked. She had some sauce on her cheek and she looked adorable, in his humble and unbiased opinion, "Don't even know why we went to that fancy schmancy place."

"It was bright and shiny and we wanted it." He shrugged back lightly. Peter liked this place. The owner was nice, the prices were good and the few people who did recognize them were polite. Only two people asked them for selfies, and they both said please! "Personally I blame the money for corrupting us. All that evil, seductive money turned us into something we weren't: Scrooge McSpiders. It was...horrible."

"Yeah, okay." She snorted and kicked him lightly under the table, "So I'm thinking we can get some patrolling done after this. Night's young and I really wanna let off some steam." He hoped that wasn't a crack at his performance, "Besides, it's been a while since we went on patrol together. We've been so busy with the app." Yeah, it was getting bigger by the day. Betty even mentioned whether they should start taking jobs from companies.

Speaking of...

"So, uh, I was gonna go and visit Mr. Stark in a couple of days." Gwen immediately frowned at that and he winced, "He's not that bad."

"Pete, he hired  _Frank Castle._  'Nuff said." Yeah, he heard about him from Gwen. Apparently he was 'clown town curly fries', "I just...I know you told me about how awesome and great and basically your dad-"

"I didn't say  _that_."

"-your Tony Stark is," she continued unabated, "All I'm saying is you should be careful. Just because someone's a good guy in one universe doesn't mean he's a good guy here. There's probably a reason S.H.I.E.L.D's keeping tabs on him. I mean I told you about my version of Cindy, right?" The one who drained her powers and tried to take over the world. Also one of Gwen's friends and a hero in another dimension.

"Yeah, you did, but...what if he is a good guy? I mean that Osborn guy was smuggling in lightsabers and you're still talking to him!" Or at least trying to. Still hadn't taken any of her calls.

"Yes,  _talking_. I'm not offering up  _nanobots_." She sighed, "Look, all I'm saying is be careful, but...I have your back."

"...Thanks." He got why she doubted, but he had a good feeling about this.

Two days later and he was in Stark Tower. Well, Gwen didn't say he  _couldn't,_ "Hey, Underoos! How's it going over there?" Peter sighed. Maybe showing up in full costume was a bad idea.

"Just fixing up the structural integrity!" he shouted back. The nanobots were  _amazing_. He'd heard about Wakanda sharing their tech but he never actually got access to it cause, well, he was 16 years old at the time and he didn't have access to labs with extremely high funding. To think just ten years ago Mr. Stark needed to drag his full suit everywhere. So inconvenient.

"Peter, there's a slight tear on the upper left end," Karen chimed in. Peter nodded and started binding them together, "The structural integrity of the suit was compromised heavily by your fight on Titan. If we'd continued using the suit in the current state it had been in the nanobots might have started glitching. You might have appeared in your underwear in public, which would be very embarassing."

"Yeah...I guess?" She was going somewhere, and he didn't like it.

"Yes, very. Though, I suppose you've reached that stage and more with Gwen already-"

He singed a cluster of bots. Mr. Stark looked up from his own cluttered table and looked at him warily and Peter waved him off, " _Not cool_ , Karen," he whispered. At Gwen's request he'd held off on telling Mr. Stark about her, which Karen agreed with. Apparently she liked the idea of being a unique AI in this dimension, "No one else knows, so can we stop talking about it?"

"Yes, I simply wanted to tell you of how proud I was. Gwen is a fine young woman and I know you make each other happy."

"Oh, well...thanks."

"Also, if you need any help for your performance I downloaded some articles on thrusting technique-"

He burned half the suit.

Almost six hours later (and after fixing the suit) he and Mr. Stark were having Chinese on the balcony with a nighttime view of the city. It was...nice. Mr. Stark back home was always too busy with stuff to ever actually get some tech stuff done. Peter couldn't believe this Mr. Stark had a PMC. He didn't have an arc reactor and he was always neck deep into some tech project whenever he came to visit. He probably didn't have time to run one.

"I gotta tell ya, kid, you're a genius. And coming from me that's saying something." Mr. Stark having an ego seemed pretty set in stone. It was charming, though. Like Thor's goofy grins whenever people took pictures, "This tech is...it's decades ahead of what we have over here. Just last week we were discussing being able to carry my tech in briefcases. Could you imagine that?  _Briefcases_."

"Uh...happy to help."

"...Which leads me to believe you didn't just stumble onto this. Lemme guess, another dimension?" The masks on his eyes widened and Mr. Stark smirked, "I'll take that as a yes. Hey, don't be surprised. I read the Captain America comics when I was a lonely rich kid with parents who never paid attention to him. I know you're smart, but you're not that smart. Tech like this is out of this world- or this dimension, in this case."

"O-Oh, well..."

"That and I'm a genius. It's what I do." He set down his chow mein, "So, how'd you end up here? Dimensional portal? Rift in the fabric of reality?"

"Not...exactly."

Peter told him everything. About his dimension, his Mr. Stark, Thanos...it took almost an hour and that was after cutting out so many details." Mr. Stark just listened and made some smarmy comments every now and then. Talking with him was nice. Reminded him of being back home with his Mr. Stark. He was probably out there now fighting Thanos and reversing what he did.

"So in your world I dress up in a suit and call myself Iron Man? I would've picked a better name, but sure." He leaned back on his chair and put a hand on his chin, "Still, that arc reactor thing you mentioned...real interesting. Sounds like a miniature form of perpetual energy."

"I don't really know much about it." He read up on the research papers, yeah, but only Mr. Stark really knew about how it worked; and he was really tight lipped about it - it was  _his_ , after all. Same reason he didn't just give away the blueprints for all his suits...though maybe H.Y.D.R.A infiltrating half of S.H.I.E.L.D and large chunks of the government also had something to do with it.

"Well, whenever you get back to your world I'd love to talk to your Tony." He suddenly stood up, "Speaking of, break time's over. I gotta get back to work. You should probably be heading back. Don't wanna keep you past your bedtime."

"Hey-"

"Kidding, I'm kidding!" He pulled out a stack of bills and tossed it to Peter, "There's 10,000 bucks in there. Bit more than your usual rate, but I didn't call you over for selfies and ubers."

"Mr. Stark, I can't accept-"

"You're taking it." He pushed back Peter's hand and smiled, "I know you're a hero and everything, but money makes the world go round and round. There's a difference between being charitable and being a schmuck. I didn't get to be where I am by passing up opportunities. So take the money, take the five star review I'm gonna give you and buy yourself and that girlfriend of yours something nice. You earned it."

"I...thank you, Mr. Stark-"

"Hey, it's Tony. Mr. Stark's the guy who made nanobots. I don't get to be called that till I crack this thing." He looked back at his lab, "Speaking of, really should get back to it. Same time in two days?"

"Y-You bet, Tony!" Peter swung away feeling like he was the king of the world...again. He felt like the king of the world a couple days ago too. Speaking of... "Hey, Gwen." He grinned as soon as her face came up on the lower right half of his view. Attaching the phone to his mask really made things convenient. Gwen was really grateful too, "Busy?"

"Nah, just got finished putting Koalla Kommander back in his pen." A very Australian sounding voice screamed in the background at that. Peter hadn't said anything to her, but the crime rate from this place was  _weird_. Back home he was 'lucky' if he ran into a mugger every couple of days...and one time it was just a couple roleplaying in public, which was embarassing.

Here it was almost non-stop action. Chances were he'd run into some bad guy who needed stopping in-between his gigs and he'd had to cancel at least a couple of jobs cause of some hostage situation, carjacking or a villain 'seeking to make his name'; villain's words, not his.

It just made it more infuriating that the city treated Gwen so badly. She'd been the only one who patrolled for years and they still tossed her into jail.

"Pete? You there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just nodded off for a bit." He stopped and stood on the side of a building, "So you wanna go on patrol together?"

"Sure. Let's meet at the usual place. I'll bring the snacks."

He swung over to their spot and waited a couple of minutes before Gwen arrived sans mask carrying corndogs, "So, how was your date with our friendly neighborhood PMC leader?"

"It was fine." Peter into the corndog with a slight frown. Gwen still didn't like the idea of him spending time with Mr-  _Tony_ , "We worked on the nanobots, actually. Check this out."

He handed her the corndog and tapped the spider insignia on his chest, "Iron Spider program activating," Karen said. The nanobots spread from the insignia to cover the rest of his body in a semi-metallic sheen. Gwen whistled and clapped, "Activating combat protocols." Four metallic arms jutted out of his back. That was one of the things Thanos broke back on Titan.

"Nice." Gwen nodded in approval and, with a huge grin on her face, four equally large tentacles jutted out of her back and made Peter jump, "Hey, you're not the only one with tricks. I don't have fancy nanobots, but Ven does alright for me."

"Should we activate Instant Kill mode? It might impress her!"

"No, Karen!" Gwen didn't react to the sudden outburst. She'd gotten used to his and Karen's arguments, "Just...make sure to tell me if there's anything in the suit needs fixing."

"All systems stable. I believe going on patrol to test it out would be prudent."

"Karen says I should use it, but I'm not sure purse snatchers really need it."

"I think I've actually got something for that." Gwen pulled out her phone and tapped the app, "I didn't say anything before, but one of my dad's old police buddies offered me a deal. Said that she'd give me a heads up on any high profile stuff that needs a Superhero touch in exchange for our usual rate. I told her we wouldn't accept payment for that kind of stuff but I still took the offer."

"Is she good for it?"

"Well, she told me about a group of Supervills who probably would've killed a bunch of cops if they went in there on their own, so yes." As if on cue, the app buzzed and she read the message quickly, "Okay, bad news. Bunch of gunmen robbing a hotel. Hostages in the lobby and they've already shot a couple of officers. This is...we gotta be really careful."

"I got it. Let's go."

They swung to the hotel in mutual silence and stopped at the top of a nearby building that afforded them a good view. There were SWAT vants and numerous officers already at the front, "Alright, here." Gwen crouched at the edge of the building with Peter next to her, "Jean says that there are at least a dozen gunmen and they have no idea where they're keeping the hostages. If they storm in now they'll start shooting."

"So we gotta make sure we don't get spotted. Got it." He put Karen on speaker mode.

"Peter, I can give you a scan of the building. Please raise your wrist." Karen said. He followed Karen's instructions and a 3D scale model of the the building appeared on his lenses, "According to the scan there are 24 gunmen. 12 in the lobby, 8 on various floors searching room to room and 4 guarding hostages in the basement. Might I suggest prioritizing their safety first?"

"I agree with her." Gwen nodded, "Look, we should split up. I'll go through the roof and take these guys done floor by floor while you help the hostages. We can meet up in the lobby when we're done. Sound good?"

"Sounds good. Oh, wait, hold on." He tapped both of his eye lenses and made two copies before handing them to her, "Here, this should let you see those guys and which floors they're at."

She pressed the lenses to her mask and the symbiote absorbed it, "Okay, good. See you later." She kissed him for a precious few seconds before winking and swinging her way to the roof without the police spotting her. Peter pulled down his own mask fully and and snuck into the back entrance. According to the blueprint scan the basement was just a couple of floors down.

"Peter, the stairway is booby trapped with proximity sensors." Karen said.

"Proximity sensors? What kind of robbers have proximity sensors?"

"We can deliberate later. I sent a message to Gwen to warn her as well. Might I suggest taking the elevator? The power for the lifts have been cut so it should be safe."

"Good idea." He pried open the doors quietly and wall-crawled his way down the two floors. He was almost down to the bottom when his mask-phone buzzed, "Gwen, you alright?"

"Yeah, just took down two of these guys. Thanks for the heads up on the sensors," she said quietly, "Listen, I don't think these guys are here to rob the place. Proximity sensors, body armor, these guns...these guys are professionals. And they're searching room to room but not taking any of the valuables. I think they're looking for someone in particular."

"Any idea who?"

"No, but- shit, I gotta go."

The call abruptly cut and Peter had to resist the urge to call her back. She'd be fine, "Focus, Spider-Man. Come on." He pried open the doors and his spider-sense rang. Peter let go and flipped back up just before the unmasked not-robber poked his head in with a confused look.

"What the-" He looked up and Peter webbed his mouth shut before yanking him up and webbing him to the wall. He had to remember to tell the cops before they turned everything back on.

Peter jumped to the floor and ignored the heavy feeling in his stomach. Gwen was right. He only caught a glimpse, but these guys weren't amateurs: bulletproof vests, heavy duty assault rifles and security gear. And no masks. Something like that wasn't a good sign. If the hostages saw their face they could be ID'd and were loose ends.

Meaning they didn't have much reason to leave em alive to talk.

Peter clung to the ceiling and crawled his way to the room slowly. There was a single guard at the door. He needed to keep him from calling out, "Hmm..." He saw a trashcan down the hall and took a deep breath, "Please work." He shot a ball of webbing and the metal bin fell over with a loud crash. The guard immediately raised the gun and stalked forward warily, making sure to check his corners.

Thankfully no one ever looked up.

Peter landed behind him, webbed his mouth shut then slammed him into the ground before covering him in webbing. Peter walked to the door before stopping. Both gunmen were facing the door, "Peter, I suggest against using the front door in order to lower the risk of the hostages being harmed." Yeah, there were a lot of them. Getting them out would be hard. Hopefully Gwen knew what to do with the ones still in the rooms.

"Any other ways in?"

"According to the blueprints there's a ventilation shaft close by."

"Uh...yeah, over there." He jumped up the wall and pried the vent open gently. Hope no one billed him for that, "How are we gonna get them up with the proximity sensors?"

"I suggest using the elevator again." Well, one by one would be slow, but it'd be safe. Beggars couldn't be choosers. He stopped on top on one of the lower vents and took another deep breath. He'd land right behind the two and in front of the hostages.

Okay, time to do this.

Peter pushed through the grate and landed on the floor with a soft thud, "Splitter web!" he whispered quickly. The two weblines reached them just as they both managed to around. Peter pulled and tugged the guns from their grips, "Stun web!" Balls of webbing rapidly fired from his other wrist and knocked the two not-robbers back before pinning them both to the wall.

Nailed it.

"Okay, we gotta go." He went up to the hostages and broke all their cuffs, "Everyone follow me and keep quiet-"

"W-We can't!" An older woman interrupted in a panic, "There's a bomb! If any of us leave the room it'll explode!" She pointed to the small box almost hidden in the corner and then another proximity sensor above the door.

"Peter, I would suggest against disabling the sensor. We have no idea if it would trigger a failsafe or killswitch of some kind," Karen said.

"Oh...crap. Hold on a second, okay?" He knelt in front of the bomb and held it gingerly. It was high tech definitely, more than just a block of TNT attached to a timer. Good news was it wasn't a high yieled explosive. Bad news was it was a chemical bomb, which may or may not be wors, "Oh crap, crap, crap! Uh, okay. Karen, you got anything?"

"We can use the nanobots to destroy the trigger mechanism. Afterwards we can wrap the chemicals in armor web to ensure it doesn't spill." Armor web? He didn't know he had that, but cool. He could do this.

"Alright, everyone stay back. I got this." He put his hand on top of the _very dangerous and deadly_  explosive and slipped the nanobots inside. Good thing he (mostly) knew how to control them, "Really wishing I had Ant-Man's powers right now..." He followed Karen's instructions to the letter and hacked through the programs and failsafes. One mistake and they all went boom.

His phone rang again, "Pete, we have a problem."

"Uh, kinda busy here-"

"I'm scoping out the lobby now and these fuckers are planting bombs. I don't think they plan to leave anyone alive. We need to get these hostages out of there  _now_."

"I-I got it!"

The room was deathly silent, the only sound being the the struggling of the stuck not-robbers and the occasional muffled sob. Peter narrowed his eyes and swallowed nervously as the two minute mark passed and then...

"Peter, we have successfully defused the bomb. "

"Oh thank god." He covered the entire bomb in reinforced webbing and stuck it to the floor. He stood up and faced the hostages again, "Okay, the bomb's disabled. We can leave now."

"H-How do we know it is? What if we step out that door and that thing explodes?" A man in a suit with graying hair asked.

"The bomb's disabled, but we can't stay here. Spider-Woman said these guys were planting bombs all over the lobby and we need everyone as far away from this thing as possible in case..." In case they couldn't stop it, "Sir, you have my word that this bomb is safe. If I'm lying then I'm dead too."

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say. That mask's probably gonna keep you safe."

"Incorrect. According to the analysis the bomb contents of the gas are corrosive to the skin and would push through most filters. Even with the suit we would still sustain some damage." Karen 'helpfully' chimed in, "We don't have enough nanobots to make protective covering for everyone. You'll have to get them to trust you, Peter."

_'Easier said than done.'_  Peter braced himself and took off his mask. Some of their eyes widened when they saw his face, "Okay, I know you're all scared, but I need you to trust me. I just want to make sure you all make it out of this safely. Okay?" He pocketed the mask, "There, now I'm in as much risk as all of you. So, could we please leave before it's too late?"

An uncomfortable quiet settled over the group before they all eventually nodded in assent. Peter took a deep breath and made his way to the door first. He'd need to take the first step. He looked up at the sensor, took a deep breath and stepped under it.

Nothing.

"Come on, everyone." He led them back to the elevator and made multiple ropes back to the ground floor along with a cushion at the bottom just in case,, "Alright, everyone climb. If you need help then tell me." The most physically fit climbed first while Peter took the elderly and children on his back and carried them up. It was slow, as expected, but he just focused on getting them out.

Peter dropped back down and and looked to the last two. A man in his early 40's and a 10 year old girl, "Okay, just you two left." The little girl shrunk back and hid behind the man, "What's wrong?"

"She's scared." The man held onto the girl's shoulders tightly. Her father, maybe? "I'm sorry, it's...it hasn't been easy."

"No, no, no! I get it!" He smiled reassuringly and knelt in front of the little girl, "Hey. What's your name?"

"A...Abigail..." She replied softly.

"Well, Abigail, we need to get you and everyone else out of here so me and Spider-Woman can take care of the bad guys. Okay?" She didn't respond. Not good, "Okay, okay, just...just close your eyes and count to 10 and it'll be all over."

A few seconds of silence passed before she eventually nodded. The man started climbing one of the ropes while Peter stayed close by, "Daddy, are you there?"

"I'm here, Abi. Don't worry."

The climb was slower, but it was a small price to pay to ensure the girl remained calm. Peter set her down on the floor as soon as they were out of the elevator and put on his mask again. He tapped the side, "Gwen, I'm getting the people out. Where are you?"

"Just dealt with the last three. I'll meet you at the lobby."

"See you there."

Leading over a dozen scared and high strung people wasn't easy, but he managed; helped that the hallways were empty. Peter opened the door to the back and looked around warily, "Okay, just go to the front with the cops and they'll keep you safe." All of them ran whispering varying degrees of 'thank you's'. Peter made sure they were out of sight before calling Gwen again, "I'm going to the lobby. Where are you?"

"Second floor entrance. Make sure they don't see you."

He followed Gwen's location on the map - Thanks, Karen - and crouched next to her so they could look down on the not-robbers below, "Hey." He could tell she was smiling under her mask, "So I tried to interrogate the guys up top, but no dice. Definitely professionals. Common crims definitely wouldn't be so tight lipped."

"What are you thinking?"

"Mercenaries. The gear and their tactics aren't your friendly neighborhood rent-a-thugs." Her eyes narrowed, "We should take out the guy with the detonator first. Wanna make sure they don't set off anything."

"What about the hostages in the rooms?"

"Wasn't many, actually. Just half a dozen, and I got em all out. Someone rented out most of the rooms...which really makes me buy into my theory that they're looking for someone specific."

"We can deal with it later. Let's get these guys."

"You first, Pete."

Peter aimed at the leader and webbed the hand holding the detonator before he swung down and kicked the guy right in the jaw, "Shit! Code S-M one! Repeat, code S-M one-"

"We heard you the first time, buddy!" Gwen swung down, wrapped her thighs against the side of his head then flipped and slammed him him face-first against the ground.

Was it weird that he found that kinda hot?

It was utter pandemonium after that. Peter ejected two lines of webbing and ejected himself forward to one of the lone gunmen. He kicked him in the chest with both feet, flipped back and kicked another as he landed, "Activating combat protocols." The four arms jutted out of his back just in time for him to block the combat knife that another merc swung at him.

Gwen flipped back to avoid a barrage of gunfire from a guy with a submachine gun and landed on a table, "Careful with that." She yanked the web from his grip and smacked another merc in the face with it hard enough to knock him to the floor, "Sorry, not a fan of guns!" She webbed the prone mercenary to the floor then jumped to the wall to avoid more gunshots.

Peter disarmed the knife wielding mercenary and pinned him to the wall with a barrage of stun webbing just before his spider-sense rang, "Activating bullet shield." The spider arms slammed together in front of him and morphed into a shield. Bullets pinged harmlessly off the surface and Peter could only marvel at just how  _awesome_ the suit was.

Gwen kicked the gunman in the face and webbed him to the floor, "Hands of the Spider!" He nodded gratefully and shot off a taser web at the guy rushing at her back to stab her, "Thanks! Let's finish up!"

Peter focused on three gunmen standing in a row while Gwen took care of the rest, "Web grenade!" He tossed three balls of webbing above the threesome's heads. The tiny spheres exploded with a small pop and all three of them were bound and yanked to the ceiling, "Web mine." He shot it on the close by wall and it grabbed one the last mercenary trying to sneak out the back.

He looked to Gwen just when she'd spun and slammed another mercenary into the ground, "Nap time." She flipped back upright and looked around the lobby with an impressed whistle, "Huh, I'd say that's a job well done."

He didn't get a chance to quip something back before the door was kicked open and the SWAT team charged in guns drawn, "Hands in the air!" The leader screamed. Peter shared a look with Gwen before reluctantly raising his hands with her following. It wasn't the first time he'd been held up by the cops. Even back home it took a while before the police decided he wasn't a villain.

They walked closer warily and looked around the unconscious and webbed up mercenaries. An older woman in body armor suddenly walked through the door and got to them before the SWAT leader could say anything, "Gotta take both of your statements." Her eyes brooked no argument. Gwen nodded and they both followed her out, getting wary looks from most of the team as they did.

They didn't stop walking till they got on one of the cop cars, "You're welcome, Jean." Gwen crossed her arms and leaned against the hood of the vehicle while Peter scanned the nearby ambulances. He saw Abigail and waved, which she responded to with a shy smile and a wave of her own, "Do you really need our statements."

"Makes it easier, especially now that you're public." The woman - Jean - sighed and brought a hand through their hair, "Can't say you two did bad, though. All the hostages are out without a single fatality on either side."

"I think the term you're looking for is 'good job'," Gwen snarked back, though he caught a slight hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Yeah, good job." The woman smiled faintly, "Know what, you two can make your statements tomorrow. Go home and get some rest. You two look like you need it."

Gwen nodded gratefully and swung back home with Peter right behind her. Despite the awkward finish he felt great. People were safe, the bad guys were going to prison and no one got killed. It felt good. Gwen crawled through the window first and called out, "Hey Betts, you here?" No response. She said she'd be staying over at a classmate's house late for a project, so she must've still been gone, "Huh...looks like it's just the two of us."

"Yeah...seems like."

They hadn't actually talked about what happened a couple of nights ago. It wasn't like they pretended it didn't it didn't happen, it was just...how do you bring it up? 'Hey, so we had sex and it was kinda awkward cause it was our first time? Hahaha, so you wanna go get waffles?'. A couple of weeks ago he hadn't done more than kiss someone, and that was Betty on a really badly thought out spin the bottle game. At least it wasn't Flash...

"So...good job back there." Gwen shifted the costume to a more lax t-shirt and pajama pants as she picked up some sodas from the fridge, "I know I haven't said it a lot, but it's nice to have someone watching my back. I'm not sure I would've been able to do that on my own."

"Pfft, you kidding me? I just slowed you down." He took off his mask and leaned against the table in what he hoped was a really cool way, "You were amazing back there. This place is lucky to have you."

"Yeah, well, I doubt they think so." She opened one soda and tossed the other to him. She took a long sip of the carbonated drink then let out a relieved breath, "We gotta go and talk to Jean tomorrow. I can go myself if you still don't wanna show your face."

"Bit too late for that." He took his own drink, "Besides, perks with being from another dimension. Not much to hide." He looked down at his can and licked his lips, "So...can we talk? About two nights ago?"

Her cheeks reddened slightly, but she did her best to look confident, "Wh-What about? And I thought we already did after we-"

"N-No, that's not what I meant." He sighed. Why was this so hard? "It's just...I'm scared that maybe rushed into the whole thing and that you're having second thoughts."

"What? No, no! I mean...maybe we did rush into it, but I don't have any regrets." She smiled and sat on top of the table next to him, "Look, Pete...I'm not good at this relationship stuff, but I know I like you. Who cares if we fuck up sometimes? No one said we had to be flawless."

"Yeah...I get it. Thanks." Peter smiled, "So...could we sleep together? N-Not that way, I mean-"

"I know what you mean. Come on, I'm beat."

Peter finished off his drink and followed Gwen into her bedroom after changing into a shirt and shorts. Gwen went into the bed first with Peter following after slowly. The mattress was pretty small, but they were able to fit comfortably after he pressed closer and hugged her waist, "Night, Gwen..." He closed his eyes and pressed his face against the crook of her neck, lips curled up in a smile.

"Night, Pete..." She yawned and they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then the apartment exploded. Okay, not really, but I was pretty tempted to leave this on another cliffhanger like them meeting Matt, Harry calling them to explain what was happening on his end etc etc. But I figured it'd be better if the two actually had a no strings attached victory and romantic moment so here you go. We'll see if this keeps up.
> 
> Oh, and the two leads had sex. I know some people are gonna be put off, but I'm hoping they talked about it in a mature enough manner. I was also going to have them have sex again at the end of the chapter in a more 'proper' way rather than the implied rush job they had before, but hopefully them taking it slower is better paced and more romantic/healthy.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. Do you guys wanna see Gwen actually being jealous of the attention Peter receives from admirers and vice-versa? I've had them mention being jealous but never actually showed it apart from Gwen making some snarky remarks on Peter going out with Patsy Walker.
> 
> 2\. So how's the romance so far? Sweet? Cliche? Unrealistic? I'm still thinking I rushed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Test chapter done. This was mostly setup, but I did use the last quarter to establish a communication between Gwen and Peter. Remember, I'm taking criticisms/suggestions for improvement given my lack of experience writing lighter characters.
> 
> And yes, there'll be a reason why MCU Spidey doesn't immediately go home in the next chapter, so don't worry about this being the only chapter.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. When in the Spider-Gwen timeline do you guys want this to take place? I'm torn between either it being during her early issues where she only had her dad for support and she was still being hunted by the cops or the current/later timeline where she gained control of Venom, exposed her identity and is presumably going to function as an unmasked hero under SHIELD. The former leads to more angst and depression on Gwen's POV's while the latter is there for readers who want a more lighthearted romp between two Spiders.
> 
> 2\. In the same way, do you guys want a Gwen that's already experienced in dimensional travel or someone who has no idea? The former allows her to be calmer when dealing with Peter (she'd already be used to alternate versions of him) while the latter makes her just as blind as him. If you guys pick the latter scenario I'll have to re-write the ending of this chapter.
> 
> 3\. So...romance or not? Personality wise these two could bounce off each other better- at the very least they won't be arguing and attacking each other. Their ages - Peter's 17-18 and Gwen's 19-20 - are close enough for it as well. If we don't go for a romance I can have Gwen and him being best buds/older sister and younger brother like Ultimate Gwen and Peter were, so give your thoughts.


End file.
